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The Tragedy of Lady Cindy
I wrote this in 2006ish, during the real height of the War in Iraq. It was a reaction to the way so many were politicizing death. For so many, the lives of soldiers were nothing but a number to be put on a protest sign to promote their own agenda. It struck me that even though they said they were doing this for the dead, they really didn’t care about them at all. In the meantime, the other side was trying to run a war by public opinion, and that seemed to be causing more damage than anything else. They were putting politics above life as well. Like so many others, I grew disgusted by the whole thing.
I’m not anti-war. I do think that there are occasions where we need to fight. I am certainly against anyone who uses war to promote themselves.
THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY
LADY Cindy
LORD Patrick, her husband
MICHAEL Less, a clown
KING George XLIII
Sir COLIN, a knight
An ADVISOR
A SERVANT
A MAID
A GHOST
A FOOL
A MESSENGER
Other SERVANTS, NOBLES, KNIGHTS, and PARTY GUESTS
ACT I, SCENE I
A castle hall. Enter SERVANT and MAID.
SERVANT: You toil too much, my dear; our Lord and Lady
have not in this room sat for twelve moons,
not since young Casey rose away for war.
Relax, and sit, and they shan't even notice
A day of dust upon the table here.
[he takes her rag]
MAID: Ow, give that back, or see my neck stretched.
Know you not that Michael returned this day?
A feast is made this very moment, and by
the falling sun shall this room be filled again.
SERVANT: O, Michael is at last returned then?
[enter MICHAEL]
SERVANT: Alas, the room has seemed so full without
the colors of its fool!
MICHAEL: It is my wit
that colors this room so well, and not my clothes.
MAID: Michael Less, what word of the war have you?
MICHAEL: Tragedy and horror, and all about
is misery, piled high in flesh and bone.
SERVANT: You are in danger o' proving yourself a fool,
my friend, when all reports proclaim that we
are driving back the Moors. Another month
and Spain will surely be free of Mahomet.
MICHAEL: Allies of the king, they write that news
and send it 'bout for all the simple to hear.
But I have seen, and know the whys of fight.
The Saracens have alchemists with them
who turn mere lead to gold, and our King George
does ride in search of their shiny science.
A road of golden plate does he intend
to build from his front door and to the sea.
But all the fighting does not go well in Spain.
The Moors are skilled, and our soldiers slump slain
upon the bloodied ground, and for why, I ask?
A war for gold this is, and nothing more.
[enter LORD and LADY]
SERVANT: [aside] His sympathies have long been with the lands
outside our border. He sided with the revolt,
secretly, so not to lose his head with the rest.
[aloud] But soft, for here arrives the Lord and Lady.
All hail our good Lord Patrick and Lady Cindy.
LORD: But rise, my friends, and Michael here. What news
have you of our son?
MICHAEL: Young Master Casey does well
When I did leave a fortnight gone, and well
were all his friends. He speaks highly of
his king, and of the efforts that they make.
LORD: And of the war itself? What word bring you?
MICHAEL: A war for gold this is, my lord, naught else.
But did you know of all the secret ties
'tween jewelers in the south and George the King?
LORD: Politics be damned, I know my King.
But where does fight my son? Come; speak as I
change from these riding clothes.
[exeunt LORD and MICHAEL]
SERVANT: My Lady, think not
again on Michael's rantings. You know his thoughts.
LADY: I think on not a word, 'cept those upon my son.
How go the preparations for our dinner?
MAID: I shall see.
[exit MAID]
SERVANT: And I shall choose the wine,
with your permission, gracious Lady Cindy.
LADY: Go.
[exit SERVANT]
LADY: Alas, the days seems dimmer now,
so empty is this place. I find I miss
the wailing of an infant, though 'twere years
since one did wail within these ashen walls.
[enter GHOST]
LADY: Who goes there? Come now, and answer!
What is this? The deathly figure of my son?
Casey? Casey! Art thou returned at last?
Speak to me, my son!
GHOST: Remember me.
LADY: He speaks, and yet his voice is not his own.
I think this be a vision or a dream
and not my son in flesh.
GHOST: Remember me.
[exit GHOST]
LADY: Now he is gone, the corridor is clear.
A dream for certain passed this way. I fear
the portent it delivers. Long desire
touched my soul to see him out the mire
of the war in Spain, but once he's here
my weary soul is filled instead with fear.
Mayhap my eyes and ears deceive my mind,
so tired I have been. By morn I'll find
it all forgotten. Soon this room be filled;
for needs, this matter for a time be stilled.
[exit]
ACT I, SCENE II
A castle hall. Enter LORD, LADY, SERVANT, MAID, MICHAEL Less, FOOL, and PARTY GUESTS.
FOOL:
Shall I compare thy wondrous love
To this the summer morn?
The sudden warmth will in me brew
A sight, I feel reborn.
You taunt the rays of sunlight forth
Into the clouded sky;
And likewise just a whiff of you
Will thereby cause me rise.
LADY: I understand but half of what is sung
within this hall, and thank it only half.
LORD: Love and nothing more, my lady; love.
LADY: O, but love and lust are not alike,
but oft mistook, and lust will walk as love,
but ne'er the other way around is true.
Virtue is the answer e'er to vice,
and not delight and punning at the sin.
And nor to wallow in the mourning, but
to rise above, I think, and stand untouched.
MICHAEL: Well said, my lady, yet even Christ did take
the whip upon the money changers once.
LADY: Does God's great wrath then give to us permission
to laugh at the gaudy song of lust and vice?
MICHAEL: We sometimes must with sinners sleep, my Lady.
[enter messenger]
MESSENGER: My Lord.
LORD: What comes so late must be of note;
but speak, and keep us waiting no more.
MESSENGER: The King! The King is coming from the war,
and here shall rest tomorrow eve before
he passes on the morning after.
LADY: The King!
LORD: What cause will bring him hence? Of Saracens
we have but few, and none so worthy of
his sword or spear. The war goes well, I think.
MESSENGER: Aye.
LORD: Our troops enough.
MESSENGER: O, aye, again.
The King does come to you in sympathy;
for your sacrifice and love of him.
LADY: Sacrifice?
[enter KNIGHTS carrying CORPSE covered on shield]
MESSENGER: It arrives anon.
LADY: But what is this? I fear I know too well.
Uncover him, I plea. Uncover him.
LORD: No.
LADY: I must see.
LORD: You know well enough
What lies beneath the blanket 'pon that shield.
You need not see the Saracen's strike
that took his life. There is no need for that.
LADY: Tell me not what I do need, my lord,
for need is me, and well I know it.
No war is just enough to take a son;
no cause so pure to justify his death.
LORD: Say not these things.
LADY: I'll speak what words I will,
or is this not the right of mourners still?
I am mourned, I am mourned, and Spain
has not the gold to buy what I have lost.
No Christian life is equal to my son's;
no piece of land or part of town his worth.
[uncovers CORPSE]
LADY: O, woe, for any cause is worth the fight,
but none at all the price a mother pays.
LORD: Remove her. Get her back to bed, I say.
[exeunt SERVANT with LADY]
LADY: The king does come, and leaves no time for sorrow.
So tears must wait; we must prepare for the morrow.
[exeunt]
ACT II, SCENE I
Enter FOOL.
FOOL:
When April sheds its rainy shell,
And May begins to shine,
So blooms a thought in maidens fair,
And in this head of mine.
O, what a lovely month it is,
Moved by lesser drives,
But I'll have need to leave this town
'Fore February arrives.
[knocking at the door]
FOOL: O, guards, O guards! What man is not drawn off
by Spain? Spain! Spain! Is not a man
remained behind to part these oaken doors?
Ah, me; we all must sacrifice, I s'pose!
[opens door; enter COLIN and KNIGHTS]
FOOL: O, men of valor, back from war, or is
it craven motives bring thee here?
COLIN: Silence!
I am Colin, Knight of George the King.
We come by George's mouth to prepare his stay.
FOOL: Did you bring the mead? The fattened calf?
You are not dressed to cook and serve, but then
we all make sacrifices, O yes, O yes.
The Lady of the house likes her mutton rare,
And I do like my ale just slightly cool.
COLIN: What fool is this?
FOOL: A fool of every type, I s'pose.
And what a fool would be if he acted
like a gentleman, but carry on!
Let not these foolish words slow thee down.
COLIN: [to KNIGHTS] Go search the place.
FOOL: Go search for what, pray tell?
COLIN: For weapons to be used against the King.
FOOL: No sword you'll find within this room; mayhap
there's something else you seek? A knife for steak
must enter soon, less our poor Lord should eat
in one fell swoop? Or something else you seek?
I have an armory or biting words
that could strike our upon his humours, or
mayhap there is some mistletoe somewhere.
COLIN: What? Mistletoe?
FOOL: The King is chose by God,
but even gods do fall to mistletoe.
Or is King George the tougher to Baldur now?
This keep may house a Hodur yet. Beware!
COLIN: You threaten the King?
FOOL: Not I! Not I! And yet
a fool may wonder when a tiny sprig
of mistletoe may be drawn upon a bow.
KNIGHTS: The room is clear.
COLIN: Mistletoe?
KNIGHTS: None.
COLIN: I shall report the news.
FOOL: Ta-ta! Farewell!
[exeunt COLIN and KNIGHTS]
FOOL: O, were I not a fool I'd rise to Spain
and like the goodly knights would use my skull
as a blunt weapon. But where did go that nurse?
[enter SERVANT]
SERVANT: What voice was used in here?
FOOL: Not one of note.
SERVANT: Then who was here?
FOOL: A knight.
SERVANT: Of the King?
FOOL: Aye.
SERVANT: Depart, depart! 'Twould do no good for him
to see thee here. Depart, depart, I say!
[exit FOOL]
[calling] My lord, my lord, the King has been announced.
[enter LORD, LADY, and MICHAEL less]
LORD: Can you see them come from out the door?
SERVANT: Aye, they come.
[enter COLIN]
COLIN: Lord Patrick, hail. The King
doth bid thee greeting.
LORD: We do bid him welcome.
COLIN: His Majesty, King George the Forty-Third.
[enter KING and ADVISOR]
KING: Arise, we bid. Lord Robert, we greet thee.
Your friendship has been long known to us.
You have our sympathies and gratitude.
LORD: I thank you, your Majesty.
LADY: Gratitude?
SERVANT: My lady!
KING: No, we bid thee speak; we have
no fear to answer questions of
our actions or our words. If what we say
confuses you, then question us we pray.
LADY: Forgive my hasty word, my King, but I
do not quite understand your statement to us.
Our son is dead, and not yet buried, slain
by fighting in this Spanish war of yours,
and now you bring your gratitude alone?
ADVISOR: His gratitude equates the gratitude
of God above. What more couldst thou hope?
LADY: A reason; a cause alone. What reason brought
the death of my son; why are we in Spain?
KING: Come; let us sit.
ADVISOR: Your Majesty, you need
not justify your actions in this place.
LORD: [to LADY] Truly you have gone too far with this,
for men have died for less with other kings.
King George's rule has not looked
too nearly in the doings of the lands.
Save with the war, his reign has not been active.
Let not his nature be further tempted, wife.
He is compassionate, but too far pushed
compassion turns to anger. Soft: he speaks.
KING: Good Lady Cindy, long we've taken pride
in knowing the hearts and minds of all our people.
We do not need explain or prove ourselves,
for God alone will justify our rule.
And yet we do believe that logic rules
the Christian soul, and all may know His will.
Therefore shall we reply to all your thoughts.
Five years ago, the Turks attacked our lands;
we all remember the even enough,
They sword to strike again, and we replied
in kind to their advancing ire.
MICHAEL: Hear him.
LADY: But now we speak of Moorish Spain, my King.
We struck against the Turks, and fully so.
the Saracens did not invade that day.
KING: 'Tis true, the Moors were innocent of the deed,
but well you know the two be linked in purpose;
The Turks now form the army for the land.
Well have you said that Iberia brought not the fight,
Yet they as well have sought to bring jihad
to us, and often through their Turkish force
they spread their war upon us.
MICHAEL: Hear him, lady.
SERVANT: [to MICHAEL] What say you, Michael? We all know you loathe
this King, as well the war and even land.
What purpose do you possess to speak up now?
MICHAEL: [to SERVANT] To only bid our lady hear, unless
you fear the words of our King George himself.
SERVANT: [to MICHAEL] I fear it not, but you I'll watch fore'er.
KING: We fight them there so we'll not fight them here;
to save the lives of others your son died.
LADY: The Saracens deserve so much attention?
KING: O, yes, and the war has proven it soundly.
Their fervor knows no bounds of decency:
a thousand women they would slay for terror.
They curse the Christian soul, whether soldier
or e'en civilian. The Church in Spain remains
oppressed and also threatened. Those who speak
against Mahomet are beheaded, friends
of Christian nations are destroyed for such.
Monsters are our enemies, and evil.
LADY: I see.
KING: And you are satisfied?
LADY: I am.
I thank you for your mercy, speaking here.
You honor Casey's life in love for us.
KING: Embrace us as a friend, my Lady Cindy,
and let us go to sup.
[they embrace]
SERVANT: This way, my King.
[exeunt except LADY and MICHAEL]
MICHAEL: Would you hear your fool reply, fair lady?
LADY: I would, if thou hast words.
MICHAEL: Not here; tonight.
I think it time for Casey to start his fight.
[exeunt]
ACT III, SCENE I
Enter LADY, MAID, and MICHAEL
MICHAEL: Is yet the King abed?
MAID: Indeed he is.
MICHAEL: So, by your leave, our meeting is begun.
LADY: You have my leave, but still I understand
it not why we are gathered 'neath these trees.
Does something you would say despise the light?
MICHAEL: O, light there's not with George the King around,
but all is laid in shadow, and all is dark.
LADY: At times I've heard it said that you
supported Jonathan and not King George.
MICHAEL: The passing of a throne's a tricky game,
and sometimes it decided not by blood,
but by the spilling of. I sided with
Lord Jonathan, the brother of the King,
o'er his nephew, George.
LADY: The son of a King,
as well as nephew. George that ruled before
had fathered an heir before his death, but yet
that heir had not been born, nor even known,
when William, brother of the King, was crowned.
George did have a son.
MICHAEL: A severed line,
Removèd from the throne. The crown had passed,
and then to William's heirs belonged the throne.
Since none had yet been born at William's death,
the line did pass unto his brother John.
George did never claim a son, and we
still cannot say him not a bastard by
the former queen. The Lords did pick the King,
and not by blood. Politically did George
more benefit the nobles than did John.
You only know their side; you were not born.
LADY: No, I was not. But well I know your heart,
and it did much surprise to me when you
did bid me hear the King.
MICHAEL: O, hear him well,
for hidden in his words was truth. I heard
it plain, and I have noted every word.
LADY: What do you mean?
MICHAEL: This war is naught but greed,
and none of his “protection” there exists.
LADY: So you've said a hundred times, but I
did not hear such from home tonight. Speak on.
MICHAEL: Heard him say this war began that day
the Turks invaded our land? When the words
were said I called for your attention to them.
LADY: So I recall.
MICHAEL: And he admitted then
the Turks were working 'lone, and that the Moors
were not involved with them at all in this.
LADY: But tied they are!
MICHAEL: How so? What I heard there
was that the Turks invaded here, and we
responded with attacks against the Moors!
No, there must be something more to this.
We have invaded a sovereign land and fought
against their peaceful people and their towns.
LADY: But they have threatened us.
MICHAEL: As we might curse
a Muslim for his faith? Are those the threats?
We spoke as bad before the war, but ne'er did they
make a move against us. Idle words;
these supposed threats were naught but idle words.
LADY: But they have fought unfairly, and show their souls thus.
MICHAEL: They battle for their people, and fight for home!
What less would we each do in such a place?
We have invaded the. Warrants that not
a little mud upon a sword? Surely.
I have been into their lands, and knew
it 'fore our soldiers' feet did trample it.
It was a paradise, I swear it so!
A place of culture, peace, and hospitals,
universities, and learning, O!
The tales we hear of that place not were forged
by swords of Christians. We have razed that land.
We have turned those men to terrorists.
Forget that not, and I will take my leave.
[exeunt severally]
ACT III, SCENE II
Enter LADY
LADY: So lost am I again, so soon since I'd
been found! Alas, I know not what to think,
What were the words of George the King concealing?
All I hear are words of what occurs,
and words are easily contorted, moved
to something slightly different or distorted.
And even if he lies, what can I do?
A lady in this kingdom has some strengths,
but little, little; my words mean almost nothing.
Revenge it is I seek, blood for blood,
but I have not a target for my rage.
Is George of fault, or Saracens?
I know the Moors did cut him down, but who's
to blame for putting Casey there at first?
[enter GHOST]
I speak his name, and he does come again.
A message he delivers?
GHOST: Remember me.
LADY: He does recall his words.
GHOST: Remember me.
[exits]
LADY: I shall, I shall, but how shall it be done?
When my words revert to despair he comes;
he wants it not. He wants to be remembered
for something more than how he died; for why!
For why becomes the message I'm to spread.
King George has murdered my son. I'll be revenged.
[exits]
ACT IV, SCENE I
Enter COLIN, CORPSE, and FOOL
FOOL:
I once did find a girl I liked,
With fair and shining skin.
I asked from her a favor sweet;
She said I flirt with sin.
Now me, I am a Godly man,
Who will not walk astray.
I take her to see sin each night,
And to the Church come day.
COLIN: What ho?
FOOL: Where?
COLIN: Who goes there? Answer!
FOOL: Why me, I think, who goeth there, for I
know me well enough, but you, my friend,
are not familiar.
COLIN: O, it's you.
FOOL: And you
I do remember now. 'Twas you who came
to search our keep for lurking mistletoe.
But have you found it yet, or was it that
that slew this boy? A nasty plant it is.
COLIN: No mistletoe was this, but something greater.
A Saracen did strike this body down.
FOOL: And you are sent to guard it then? My friend,
you come too late. The scimitar is struck!
COLIN: I stand in vigil with the body 'til
the burial that comes tomorrow noon.
FOOL: Well, do not let him get away! It moves
me so to see our soldiers guarding dead
instead of making dead of Saracens.
So tell me of your progress.
COLIN: Progress where?
FOOL: Well, here, of course; hast thou uncovered the plot?
COLIN: What plot?
FOOL: O, too much guarding death and not
enough investigation!
COLIN: What do you mean?
FOOL: Mistletoe. You'll know it 'cause it's green.
COLIN: Mistletoe again.
FOOL: Yes, 'gain. The King
has a son, invincible, who feels the sting
of the tiny plant, and then the terrible wonder —
his body from his spirit rent asunder,
if either aspects did he true possess.
COLIN: The King is childless.
FOOL: Not him; unless
your mind. I speak of motives greater.
I speak of heroes, myths, and lusty satyrs.
COLIN: You think such things as higher?
FOOL: Yes, of course.
The myth, the tale, is life, but with another force
that brings it from the breath and to the soul.
The painting of the tree is better than
the tree; the work of art possesses some
of the painter too! May I tell you a tale?
There will be a time when war is fought,
and all is going well in this campaign.
Victory is near, and few fallen!
But a young soldier is slain, as they will do.
More will die than one, but the mother of
the boy becomes enraged, and follows 'round
the leader of the country, taunting and
harassing 'til all the people hear her words.
She weakens him, you see. She weakens him.
COLIN: With mistletoe?
FOOL: Alas, alas, poor knight,
if only you were born a fool like me.
But yes, perhaps you're right. The invincible
is taken down by such a small thing.
COLIN: The leader is deposed?
FOOL: I know it not.
Science fiction is all that is, no more.
It's just a tale!
COLIN: But what mean you by it?
FOOL: The first shall be last, the last then first.
Goliath fell against a stone and sling,
and Samuel Houston defeated Santa Anna
in merely eighteen minutes. Science-fiction!
I cannot live without some Asimov.
You cannot reason 'ganist the heart;
It drags us all below.
And everything it touches starts
To smell of mistletoe.
[enter LADY]
Fine timing, I would say. Farewell to thee!
[exits]
LADY: Stand away, good sir.
COLIN: From whence?
LADY: From that,
my son, who rests upon that marble slab.
Stand back, and let a mother see her son.
What right has he to make decisions for
a mother when it touched on her son?
What right does have a King to make a war?
His violence never solves the problem. Back!
[draws a dagger]
COLIN: She's mad!
LADY: Not mad, but seeing clearly now.
It's what my saintly son desired of me.
None will touch this body 'til I speak
with George the King. No burial will happen
until I have some answers from the King.
[exit COLIN]
It will not be long now. Not long, I think.
I'll stand right here until this earthly shell
is dust again if that I must. I'll stand
until I speak with the King. He owes me that!
He should at least explain why he is dead.
He should give reason for my son's demise.
[enter SERVANT, MAID, ADVISOR, and LORD]
LORD: What is this? You hold me 'way from this
my son with naked blade? Why are you here?
LADY: For him! For him! He demands an answer from
our King about his death. I must have answers.
ADVISOR: The King has answered every question you
have posed to him, beyond his duty too.
What other answer would you have of him?
LADY: The war! What say he 'bout the war in Spain?
Wherefore did we attack the Saracens?
ADVISOR: Answered, and in full.
LADY: I'll have my answers!
ADVISOR: You've had them all.
LORD: You are in grief, my wife.
Come with me to bed, and on the morrow
we will bury Casey. Come to bed.
LADY: No, I'll not depart this place until
I have the answers that I see.
ADVISOR: So be it.
[exits]
LORD: A foolish game, my lady. One you'll lose.
[exeunt except LADY and CORPSE]
LADY: I'd lose again to save a mother's grief.
A hundred times again I'd die with him.
A grieving mother's word cannot mislead;
if only was consulted 'fore the deed.
[exeunt]
ACT IV, SCENE II
Enter KING and ADVISOR
ADVISOR: My King.
KING: Stand and be silent, I heard it all.
Gossip still flies faster than any bird.
ADVISOR: So will you see her?
KING: I know not, I fear.
I've spoken to her once, and given her
much freedom in her words. I this alone
did not her satisfy, then what words would?
In my reign I've sought the love of all, and each
attempt at this does distance me from them.
I fight the war to keep my people safe;
I shape the laws to better each their lives.
They want more surgeons, and so I bring them here.
And schools I buy and pay for them, so small
our coffers grow with every purchase made.
I want their faith and loyalty, and so
agree, at times, with enemies to make
of them friends, but friends they not become.
And so I eat with her, and speak with her,
and love the woman spite the way she hides
dark accusations 'neath respectful words.
What more wants she of me? I can do no more.
ADVISOR: Would you allow me speak, my King?
KING: Of course.
ADVISOR: It's not your duty to be loved, good sire,
to have your name cause smiles in the streets.
Such is the place of heroes and of poets.
It is for you to build the very street,
to take from them what gold and lives you must,
to leave as much as you are able, then
to keep the wars in foreign lands, lose
our soldiers 'gainst another castle
instead of losing them within our own.
Your duty is to protect the people, not
to simply be admired for your words.
KING: Perhaps you're right, but still I find it hard
to wage a war while knowing mothers weep
behind me here. 'Tis hard to be disliked.
[exeunt]
ACT V, SCENE I
Enter LADY and CORPSE
LADY: So soon did they stop caring for my words.
I stay, for this is not a war of words;
I stay, but weary I've become. I heard
the bells of the cathedral ring its time
a moment 'go and Matins has gone by.
So weary I've become. My mind has slipped.
Ha ha! I now repeat myself, Ha ha!
Perhaps I'll sit. O, that is better. Just
a moment I will close my eyes. A moment.
[enter COLIN and KNIGHTS]
COLIN: She is asleep. Go take her blade from her.
Now that is done, no danger we are in,
at least from her. Has she mistletoe?
A foolish question, I suppose. Come.
Help me with this body. A funeral
fit for a Christian will this soldier have.
[exeunt all except LADY]
LADY: O, did I sleep? A dreamless sleep it was,
so cold and deathly; no rest I found in that.
But what is this? Where has my dagger gone?
And Casey? O, spite! And I am left alone!
[exits]
ACT V, SCENE II
Enter LORD, COLIN, and KNIGHTS with CORPSE
LORD: Good, now prepare the body for burial
before my wife finds another blade.
[exeunt COLIN and KNIGHTS with CORPSE;
enter KING and ADVISOR]
KING: What mean you here?
LORD: I mean to bury my son.
Would that I could bury her as well,
to make a spectacle of grief like this.
He 'twere my son as much as he were hers,
and I will see him buried as Christian,
not left upon the street as pagans do.
Would that I could set her 'side, and yet
the Church forbids it. I am left with naught.
No heir and nor a son, for I had both
in him. He was my future; he was my heart.
[enter LADY]
O, you, who took occasion of this death
to compound it thrice with rage and ignorance!
You think your word be holy since it comes
from out the shadowed eyes of grief?
We grieve, we grieve, but you have taken grief
and made it god of you. O, yes, we grieve,
but you are nothing else but grief.
[exeunt except LADY]
LADY: They do not understand; they cannot see
my pain, a pain that no one else has felt.
A pain I hold without compare, and none
can understand what I have felt.
I am alone, alone.
[enter GHOST]
GHOST: Remember me.
LADY: This cannot end as yet. I'll be a thorn
within his side, and e'er the King will feel me.
I'll follow him until the war is done,
or else he answers me.
GHOST: Remember me.
LADY: What man is this? Have you as well here come
to mock and spit on me? No matter, I
have heard the worst, and still I overcome.
You cannot stop the memory of Casey
from living on through me. I care not what
your name may be, but stay out of my way.
[exit GHOST]
My purpose now is clear. And if I may
not see him 'gain, I'll see him in my heart.
In this pursuit, we'll never be apart.
[exits]
The End
© Copyright 2006 by Paul Lytle. All rights reserved.
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Paul Lytle
