Emily's Evensong

[Dramatic Fragment II]

Enter Emily, half-mindedly walking towards a forlorn bench facing the nearly set sun; she sits.

EMILY:                                                                 (A moment for thought, then:)
And again you come, my sweetest dusk
Again you come, always, as you must
Though never alone—no, never alone
With you comes a chill of the bone
And the ember-warmth of a forgotten home

A great dimming of the wondrous sky
Moving the world, and me, to lie                          (Rests her arms on top of the back of
Bringing on a time for silence                               the bench; head propped, legs tucked)
To brood on a lingering absence
And to old night-secrets: my solemn abidance

Of me you know all
Know the spectres, my demons
Know them all

But what could I give in return
For all this given me to learn?
The staying of my aching heart                             (Placing her hand on her chest)
The many pains all here marked
The pains that are most alive here in the dark

My cherished dusk, my cherished night                  (Rising from the bench; ambling)
I will go down—go down like the light
Give myself unto shadow and shade
Lay my body in a midnight glade
Fulfilling the promise that I long ago made

      [TWILIGHT NOW FULLY GRIPS THE SCENE]

Of me you know all                                               (Singing increasingly softly)
Know the spectres, my demons
Know them all
But put them to rest now
Put them to rest so that I may sleep

Emily ceases; she looks at the muted glow of the horizon with subtle longing as she saunters away. Exit Emily.

M.M. — ?, Iunius–Iulius, November MMXI; Aprilis MMXII