Sans Everything
The scene is a busy sidewalk, early morning in the city. Everyone's in a hurry, except the Sweeper of Dreams, who holds his broom off the ground, observing dourly. First we hear from five characters about their dreams, either sequentially or overlapping.
SCHOOLBOY
I still remember
There was a snail
It ate up all the Mondays in the calendar
So school could never start
LOVER
I still remember
It was Abigail
Her eyebrow fell off and ran away and I caught it
And I tried to give it back
VETERAN
I still remember
Saving Dale
I blew a bubble and it held him and the bomb splashed
But he was mad
JUDGE
I still remember
I was in jail
And all the men I sent there sawed a hole in the wall
And told me to flee
SENIOR
I still remember
She gave me a fail
I was back in school and I couldn't find my paper
And my voice kept breaking
Now the Sweeper falls into step behind the Judge.
JUDGE
I crawled out through the hole
They closed it behind me
I escaped into the woods
There were nuns there
They told me--
The Sweeper sweeps the ground, once.
JUDGE
There were nuns!
They told me--
The Sweeper sweeps again.
JUDGE
I escaped!
There were--
A final sweep.
JUDGE
I always forget.
The Judge exits. The Sweeper falls in step behind the Veteran.
VETERAN
Dale said he was supposed to die
He said I'd disobeyed orders
He popped the bubble with a roaring sound
His arm went through and it was dead
And I was in the bathtub screaming
So then I--
Sweep.
VETERAN
A dead arm in my bathtub so I had to--
Sweep.
VETERAN
Dale was--
Sweep.
VETERAN
I can't remember.
Maybe I'll have that dream again.
The Veteran exits. The Sweeper falls in step behind the Senior.
SENIOR
Mrs. Carter said I'd flunked
Because I couldn't find my paper
On the sinking of the Lusitania
I told her I had too many wrinkles to stay in 4th grade another year
So she bit them off
Her teeth were so sharp that--
Sweep.
SENIOR
My face was--
Sweep.
SENIOR
Mrs. Carter was there and she--
Sweep.
SENIOR
It's lost.
The Senior exits. The Sweeper turns, bumps into the Lover, and stumbles. The Lover hurries on, oblivious. The Sweeper recovers, scowling, and falls in step behind the Schoolboy.
SCHOOLBOY
There were kingdoms and castles
Sweep.
SCHOOLBOY
Angels and owls
Sweep.
SCHOOLBOY
I ran with the deer
Sweep
SCHOOLBOY
It was all so wonderful
Sweep
SCHOOLBOY
Oh, if only I could remember!
The Schoolboy exits. The Sweeper falls in step behind the Lover, smiling nastily.
LOVER
I knew if I gave Abigail back her eyebrow
She would want me
So I took off my shirt
But she hadn't put it back on her face
She tore out her hair
The rest of her hair
And it was worms
Red worms
Scarlet worms
The Sweeper nods and exits.
LOVER
The worms crawled into my chest
Because I had no shirt
And Abigail laughed the way dolphins laugh
Because she had no hair so she was someone new
But I had worms in my heart
And I can still feel them
Why are they still there?
He stops walking and scratches madly at his chest.
LOVER
Scarlet worms
They're in my heart
Eating their way out
To daylight
It's daylight
She's shrieking in my ears
Why can I still hear her?
He claps his hands over his ears, and tries to scratch his chest with his elbows.
LOVER
The worms
Why don't I forget?
When will it all
go away?