by David Budbill
WAYNE
I'm worried. I'm worried about my stomach. I've got these pains
in my stomach, and then up a little . . . up a lot. It's there
all the time. It never goes away. I mean the pain. And
it moves around sometimes. It moves around a lot. Over here
to my left side and then across and over to my right side,
and sometimes it's in my back–I mean the pain . . . up and
down my spine and on my sides. Once in a while . . . sometimes . . . a lot . . . it shoots down my leg about half way to my knee, all the way to my knee, down to my ankle. My ankle hurts all the time. The pain is there all the time. It never goes away. I'm worried. I'm worried about my stomach, and I'm worried about my foot. I've got a pain in my foot. My left foot and only on the left side of my left foot, the left half of my left foot. Isn't that strange? What causes that? I've been to the doctors and they say there's nothing there. Well! I can feel there's something there–in my stomach, in my foot. I've got these pains in my stomach, in my back, in my leg, and in my foot and I can't sleep. I get so worried I can't sleep. Sometimes I go days and days without any sleep. What causes that? I wonder what causes that. I'm worried about my stomach and my foot and about why I can't sleep. And I'm worried about I might go crazy.
What if I go crazy?
COME APART BLUES
You got no wrinkles anywhere,
I mean, your skin is sleek and smooth.
And you ain't saggin' nowhere, Babies.
Good Lord, you are barely used!
Now Listen to me children,
you ain't always gonna be brand new.
Someday you are going to look into that mirror
and see how you are dyin' too.
And then, and then,
my sleek-smooth, turn-on Cuties,
What, what, what, what, what
what the hell you gonna do?
I say, those titties gonna hang down, Honey,
and your ass is gonna turn to goo.
The inside of your thighs, Girl,
gonna get soft and flabby too.
Your chin is gonna double
and your knees is going to droop.
You gonna come apart, Baby,
and then what are you gonna do?
And you little boys out there,
don't you think I ain't also talkin' straight to you.
That little pecker you got hangin' there,
yes, yes, you know the one I mean.
The one you think is never never! going to fail you,
well, your worse nightmare gonna come true!
Listen to me, Little Boys,
you got some surprises comin' your way too!
I said, your stomach gonna stick out
and you are going to get flat feet.
You're gonna lose your hair, you Cuties,
and then you're gonna lose your teeth.
You are going to come apart, My Pretties,
and then what are you gonna do?
You're gonna get bad breath,
and your skin is gonna peel.
You gonna get the constipation
and you are gonna look unreal.
Y'all are gonna come apart, Baby,
and then what are you going to do?
I said, I said, I said, and then
my firm-fleshed, turn-on Cuties
I said, what, what, what, what, what!
what the hell you gonna do?
ISAIAH
Good morrow, my Children. Praise Wow. Praise Wow who giveth and praise Wow who taketh away. Praise Wow for his creation and for the day he hath made.
Brothers and Sisters, open up your hearts to this poor one, the least among you, for I am surely the servant of the Lord. Yeah, verily, I say unto you, we are all one, we are all God’s children and therefore when ye do it unto the least of these ye do it unto me. So do it unto me, Baby!
In the beginning was the word and the word was made flesh and the flesh dwelt among us and even though it is now later the word is still made flesh as it is and as it always will be in every generation for so he hath promised that verily in every generation, Yes!, I said in every generation, for so long as there be a run of throps, Yes! there shall be at least one of me:
the word made flesh, the avatar, incarnation of the incantation, bagged up and bodied, right here, right now, no lines, no waiting, and meant to dwell among you, yea, even among and, can you believe it? in, the least of you, and therefore Brothers and Sisters! Here I am!
Join me, join me my Brethern and Sisteren, join me so we all can be servants of the Lord. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. I said The Lord giveth and He taketh away. You giveth and I will taketh away! Dig deep. Dig deep, I say.Give it up. Come on People! Give in. Give in and give!
Brothers and Sisters! Give me your money so we can all be one! Brothers and Sisters, surely you can see that: we are one! Black and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, old and young, Jew and Gentile, Moslem and Zoroaster!
Do you know what she said when Zorro asked her?
She said, "No way, Baby. Huh, uh. Sorry, Honey!"
Come on people! You got it all and I got none. I'm tellin' you the truth, you know I am. And on top of all of that I'm givin' you a laugh too. How often you get a two-for-one sale like that? I ask you, how often? But . . . Ladies and Gentleman, you ain't payin' the bill, and that ain't right, and . . . and you know what happens to those who don't pay the bill. Ah, ah. Oh, oh. No. No. I ain't threatenin' you. I know what happens to me if I threaten you. I bat my eyes and I’m out of here, out of here and gone to where I ain't gonna need your money. No,
I'm not threatening you. I'm just tellin' you the truth now.
I'm out here workin' hard, workin' hard! workin' hard for you,
but you ain't payin' the bill! It’s time you start payin' the bill!
Prepare to meet thy maker, oh ye, sinners of Sodom and Gomorra,
of Baghdad and Babylon! Thank you, sister. The Lord giveth and
the Lord taketh away. You giveth and I'll taketh away. Thank you.
Thank you, Brother. How's the family? Good. Good. Oh, come on now. Please! Don’t be
as heartless as a Republican. Black and white,
rich and poor, gay and straight, old and young, Jew and Gentile,
Moslem and Zoroaster–all of us are one. Give it up and give!
Praise Wow who giveth and praise Wow who taketh away.
Praise Wow for his creation and for the day that he hath made.
Dearly Beloved, join me now in saying as we have been taught to say and as the Apostles who came before us said:
We jeep in one Wow, Good galontly, from whom our elver amerdang.
And in the ooark Bright of Wow, who was rejesten of Wow forebee elver dees and forebee elver restáning, and through whom elver amerdang came into areing, both pleezible and impleezible, rejesten ooarkly, lyon from the Good lyon, Wow of Wow, same to the Good who rejest him, nardunning to the Blamtures, whose fluration zip one zarn save lyon the Good
who rejest him. And in the Wiser Gingle, whom the ooark Bright of Wow himself. Yes, our Indeed and Wow, levént to flend to the run of throps as a Daamdeedungdung, which was consupéd by the goods in ugh, but! areing unzarn to the things up oups, because the Blamtures be bop filláin it, it seems nice that it should be zahnen by the zip spleak quilt of it in the far,
and zat, samely, should the dabang fanofferly be consupéd
of Good and Bright and Wiser Gingle.
Amen
Good morrow, my Children. Praise Wow. Praise Wow who giveth and praise Wow who taketh away. Praise Wow for his creation and for the day he hath made. Brothers and Sisters, open up your hearts to this poor one, the least among you, for I am surely the servant of the Lord.