double
expo

"When All Becomes Cotton"

(An unknown figure, somewhere between mirror and madness steps forth—cotton candy in hand, a mirror worn upon the face.)

 

CHARACTER:

(Softly but with despair in voice) When all the world dissolves to spun delight,

What form have I? What truth remains in sight?

Some say, "'Tis glow within!"

Others cry, "'Tis bone and skin!"

But madmen speak of sweeter lies—

That we are all but cotton skies,

Shaped by wind and warm deceit,

A form made soft, a truth made sweet.

 

(Turns to the audience) Which self is real?

The one the mirror grants?

The one thou seest?

The one I long to be?

Oh, cursed glass—

Thou show’st me ten, and none are me.

 

(He lifts the cotton candy, as though it were a skull.)

What happens when they bite?

Do teeth meet fluff… or void?

Is sweetness all I have to give?

Nay—chaos is no curse.

Chaos is the chance!

The forge where self is melted,

Then re-formed with trembling hands.

So take thy bite, cruel world—

And may thy hunger

Set me free.

(The character leaves the stage)

 

Expect the Unexpected.