in memory monologue

this is the second piece inspired by the crash... i think it may end up as part of a larger... thing?
prompt: write a 1-2 page internal monologue

In Memory: Katherine Merkel, Tiffany Urso, Jessica Nutoni and Matthew Frank
(Lights up on a bed, center stage. The bed has a lot of blankets, sheets and pillows, so much so that MAE isn’t noticeable until she rolls over. She keeps shifting, and eventually rolls onto her back, puts her hands behind her head. She is wearing baggy pajama pants and a camisole, no socks. The room should be lit like it is night)

MAE

(She sighs)

It could have been me. That could have been me. A road I drive down practically every day.

(She sits up and faces the audience.)

That could have been me.

(Pause, she hangs her head)

I walked down the same hallways, had the same boring English classes, ate in the same cafeteria. I didn’t really know them or anything… But why them? Why not me? What makes me lucky? Special? It could just as easily been me.

(She pauses again, looking towards downstage right)
Just the one stupid mistake. Just one. And one little patch of ice. I saw it happen. We were right behind them, pure chance I guess. Just riding along with Ty, and we saw them swerving a little. And then crash, bang. Pole. And that was it. The metal… all that twisted metal. We could see them in the car. We tried to get them out, but just couldn’t.

(She pauses and stares off for a moment)

Red and white. All that red on white. Smashed lights, twisted metal…I tried, we both tried.

(She sighs again)

It just doesn’t seem real. It didn’t happen right? It was just some nightmare I’m stuck in? Because I can’t fathom it otherwise. In a split second, how could we lose four kids? How? Could I have done more? Did it hurt? Or was it painless? And why did everyone else make it? How did she make it? Why didn’t it happen to anyone else? Why did it happen at all?

(She starts to get worked up, and begins pacing, slowly then quicker)

Am I really supposed to believe this is part of some big plan? All of this pain and confusion happens for a reason? What am I supposed to do? Pray? Offer a sacrifice of some sort? Declare somehow, that I am happy to be alive? Eh? What?

(She stops, sits on bed and slumps a bit)

Because all I seem to be able to do is cry.

(She begins to cry. It should be quiet and understated, her voice strains)

That twisted mess of a car could have been any of us. That could have been me.

(She lies on the bed, curls into a ball and pulls the cover over herself. Her crying can be heard as the lights slowly fade to black)


*this one is still a draft... i want to flesh it out a bit still.

i dont need this (draft)

alright, this is response #2 for my creative reading class. response #1 should never see the light of day. this is another poem. i'm not good at poetry.
prompt: "translate" D.F. Brown's poem (When I am 19 I Was a Medic) into your own experience-- write about something powerful that happened to you in the present tense. try to make the reader understand how you feel about it now, how it's changed you.
*i've made changes, suggested by my prof. he was right)

I don’t need this (second draft)

We’re facing off for the first time, the only time.
Screaming, crying, angry glares.
You say we ganged up
That this is really my fault.

Blaming me only makes it worse.
Let’s bring up painful, ridiculous memories
Nothing will help this
Nothing will fix this.

I’d call this a break up.
It ends with you leaving
And I feel better but not for long.

This haunts me already
You haven’t really left.
You’ll hold on much longer
Than I ever will.

©2007

in memory

so i have written two things in my response to the horrible car crash last weekend. this is the first, a poem (sorry about that, its the assignment).
This is the prompt: Do a two page free write on any give topic. Choose a topic that is familiar enough to allow you to draw from media headlines, current topics or every day issues that you will likely encounter. From your two page free write, extract the most authentic language and details. Write a poem of no longer than one hundred words.
i skipped the free write. meh.

In Memory: Katherine, Tiffany, Jessica and Matthew

1 party
1 drunken adult
8 kids
1 car
1 ride home
1 wrong move
1 utility pole
1 smashed car
6 firefighters
4 police officers
4 kids dead
4 kids hurt
1 adult going to jail
2 tv stations broadcasting our tragedy
1 community
1 high school
8 parents mourning
4 crosses
4 memorial services
4 funerals
4 churches
4 kids recovering
12 charges filed
1 Five Million Dollar Bond
1 snow covered memorial
1 week gone by
2 tv stations still interested
1 tragic night that so many of us will not forget

(© 2.17.07)

yay for specialized blogs!

and i start yet ANOTHER blog!

okay, i have justification for this one. its for my writing. mostly i crave feedback. will i get it here? dunno. but at least i have a place that i can tell people to go if they want to read my stuff.

so i have four creative writing classes this semester (ponder this for a second... for three of those classes, i have at least one 'creative' response to write every week. there are 15 class sessions. by my calculations that is 45 pieces of work i am producing in this semester alone. more than i have produced since my idea to become a writer). i need a place to put these. and of course, the internet is the obvious solution.

so... enjoy? feedback is appreciated. especially constructive criticism. seriously, if something sucks please tell me. i don't want to be cliche or dumb. thanks!