Four Arab men speak of the bombs nuisance...
As lights rise on the stage we see four old and judicious Arab men, Ahmad, (most praiseworthy), Anis, (love and friendship), As’ad, (happiness), and Almahdi, (guided to the right path), standing near a deli in downtown Baghdad, conversing …Periodically a distant explosion will cause them to hold their words or repeat them. The explosions do not alarm them; instead they are a part of their daily lives in Iraq; their routine. The men, numb to the bombs frequent occurrence, are only a quick and sorrowful nuisance.
ANIS: Answer me, As’ad. My brother of happiness whom I love;
(A bomb explodes from afar.)
ANIS: Must there be a kindness, a compassion, if you will, that permeates the human spirit?
AS'AD: No, Anis, my friend, of course, there mustn't. But there should. There should be if man wants to become the son of enlightenment.
(There is a long pause now as the men regard his answer. Another bomb explodes, nearer now, yet still from afar. A slight pause following the noise.)
AS'AD: Brother Almahdi?
ALMAHDI: Yes, my glad and cherished friend.
AS'AD: Must one first experience the onslaught of war to fathom opposing it?
ALMAHDI: That would depend upon one’s upbringing. Upon their nurtured hope. Were they brought up to love mankind or to love a flag...
(Another explosion now much closer as the men shift slightly in the brazen sun considering his answer.)
ALMAHDI: Most praiseworthy Ahmad, tell us, when is a bomb most torturous? As it descends-
(Another explosion even nearer now. The men unflinchingly continue.)
ALMAHDI: As the bomb descends or upon its explosion?
AHMAD: (Stretching his arms above his head yawning.) My rightful brother, Almahdi, and my dearest friends before me, it is not upon its descent, nor its explosion. (A bomb explodes very near.) It is within the moment of seething clarity at a mother and father burying their children…
(A long pause. Soon another very powerful explosion, seemingly upon them, detonates. The long pause soon turns to silence as the men stand casually and consider his answer with great purpose. This for a very long moment as the lights slowly go to black.)
The End
Copyright © 2006 mrp
As lights rise on the stage we see four old and judicious Arab men, Ahmad, (most praiseworthy), Anis, (love and friendship), As’ad, (happiness), and Almahdi, (guided to the right path), standing near a deli in downtown Baghdad, conversing …Periodically a distant explosion will cause them to hold their words or repeat them. The explosions do not alarm them; instead they are a part of their daily lives in Iraq; their routine. The men, numb to the bombs frequent occurrence, are only a quick and sorrowful nuisance.
ANIS: Answer me, As’ad. My brother of happiness whom I love;
(A bomb explodes from afar.)
ANIS: Must there be a kindness, a compassion, if you will, that permeates the human spirit?
AS'AD: No, Anis, my friend, of course, there mustn't. But there should. There should be if man wants to become the son of enlightenment.
(There is a long pause now as the men regard his answer. Another bomb explodes, nearer now, yet still from afar. A slight pause following the noise.)
AS'AD: Brother Almahdi?
ALMAHDI: Yes, my glad and cherished friend.
AS'AD: Must one first experience the onslaught of war to fathom opposing it?
ALMAHDI: That would depend upon one’s upbringing. Upon their nurtured hope. Were they brought up to love mankind or to love a flag...
(Another explosion now much closer as the men shift slightly in the brazen sun considering his answer.)
ALMAHDI: Most praiseworthy Ahmad, tell us, when is a bomb most torturous? As it descends-
(Another explosion even nearer now. The men unflinchingly continue.)
ALMAHDI: As the bomb descends or upon its explosion?
AHMAD: (Stretching his arms above his head yawning.) My rightful brother, Almahdi, and my dearest friends before me, it is not upon its descent, nor its explosion. (A bomb explodes very near.) It is within the moment of seething clarity at a mother and father burying their children…
(A long pause. Soon another very powerful explosion, seemingly upon them, detonates. The long pause soon turns to silence as the men stand casually and consider his answer with great purpose. This for a very long moment as the lights slowly go to black.)
The End
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