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Poem
by
Megin Jimenez
Act
IV: Fear
Scene 1
Child (from bed): The monster in the closet
comes in the day, I’m afraid of the day.
Monster (opens closet door): I hate you.
And Paranoia won’t be blood, only
sweat-tasty
bites.
Paranoia:
I’m going to get you.
Scene 2
Old Man: I am afraid of the email.
Old Woman: The dancing girl on the televisions frightens
me.
Dancing
Girl on Television: I wasn’t afraid of anesthesia, and
now I fear my breasts will
leak venom. Now I’m afraid of sleeping on my front. I
am afraid of beautiful women, and I am afraid of ugly women.
Television: I am afraid you will never be famous.
People
on Television: We are not afraid of mediocrity!
Newscaster (charming): I agree with us humans
when I declare: I am not afraid of
anything!
People
Enamored of Cable Television: We fear you will leave us someday.
Cable Television: I will never leave you.
Scene 3
A Passing Smoker: (reading from a book)
“Listening to a news broadcast is like smoking
a cigarette and crushing the butt in the ashtray.” (sighs,
takes
a drag, exhales, loving the word “nonchalant”) I, too,
am nervous
the world will not eventually end.
Scene 4
(only the President is at the podium, the rest watch below)
President: There is nothing to fear but terrorism
itself. Let us have a decade of silence
in remembrance.
(Several months of silence pass)
The Religious (turning to each other): We
fear the world will never end.
Chimpanzee: (makes the sign for “fear”)
Terrorist: I have a fear of failure.
Ghosts: Why do we no longer terrify? We once were
transparent, now, we do not
even
exist.
The
Depressed: We are terrified of lightness. We begin to suspect
that ghosts may
exist.
We would like to hear ourselves scream.
Monster (screaming): I am the President!
I am the President!
Scene 5
The Dark: I am terrified of my own end, I dread each
night, when I am hacked to
smaller
and smaller bits…. Oh, the night when there won’t be a particle
of me
left.
Babies: We are often afraid.
Megin Jimenez was born in Venezuela and currently
a B.A. from the University of Denver and possesses an M.F.A. from The
New School writing program. She has no books forthcoming from any press,
although she translates poems as well as writing them. |
