THE ATOLL

Javor Gardev / Georgi Tenev / Assen Avramov

THE ATOLL

Conceived and directed by
Javor Gardev
Poetry texts and dialogues written by
Georgi Tenev
Chorus score and music composed, orchestrated and conducted by
Assen Avramov
---
Produced by
Daniela Manolova
Audio-recording concept and supervision
Assen Avramov

---

1. THE BATTLE

/Ulysses, Bomber 1, Bomber 3/

Ulysses
Hello, Philoctetes! In the final analysis, there aren't that many ways out... Let's see. Have you heard the weather forecast? There's rain at the fourth degree and snow at the sixth. To the north - there too many dolphins. Philoctetes? All right. Let's say he doesn't hear us! Let's blow up his ass! (To the bombers. Military radio frequency.) Everybody keep their eyes on the map! Sink his cutters at the front. And attack in the rear at the northern quay. Then the divers go into the waters of the bay. Go!

Bomber 1
Be careful about the shallows!

Bomber 3
I missed.

Ulysses
Try again!

Bomber 1
A break-through the rear! We'll shell!

Bomber 3
Wo-o-o-o-ow!

Bomber 1
Ulysses...Ulysses... We scorched them.

Bomber 3
That's the end of Lemnos. Back to Troy.

Bomber 1
Ulysses... Target destroyed. Ulysses...

Bomber 3
The whole fucking atoll is like fried eggs.

Bomber 1
Ulysses... Philoctetes is destroyed. Ulysses??? (To Bomber 2.) There's no answer. We've lost the connection.

Bomber 3
Ulysses! Ulysses! They aren't on the radar either! Ulysses!

Ulysses (Off the frequency.)
Try again!

2. CIRCLES OF THE DREAM

/Chorus of the Three Moirai as follows: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos/

Atropos: A dream
A dream
A dream
Lachesis: is not
is not
is not
Clotho: that which
which
which
Chorus: you do not know and do not ask about:
Where?
Death!
Lachesis: Because life will not be
Clotho: will not be
will not be...
Chorus: Life does not remember that it has been.
Where
where
where
you do not know,
but you know
that you are.
Sleeps
sleeps
sleeps
Lachesis: he who is you.
Chorus: A dream
a dream
a dream
when the inside is out...
And I do not know
why
tears
tears
tears
I shed
for him,
for you,
who are not.
Atropos: A dream
A dream
A dream
Lachesis: is not
is not
is not
Clotho: that which
which
which
Chorus: you do not know and do not ask about:
Where?
Death!
Clotho: Death!
Atropos: Death!
Lachesis: because life will not be
Clotho: will not be
Atropos: will not be -
Lachesis: life does not remember that it has been.
Clotho: Where
Lachesis: where
Atropos: where
Lachesis: you do not know that,
but you know that you are.
Chorus: Sleeps
sleeps
sleeps
Lachesis: he who is you.
A dream
Clotho: a dream
Lachesis: a dream
Atropos: where the inside is
Chorus: out!
Lachesis: And I do not know why tears
Clotho: tears
Atropos: tears
Clotho: I shed
for him
Atropos: for you
Chorus: who are not.
A dream
a dream
a dream...
Lachesis:
A dream...
And my Ulysses is deceived by another Ulysses
as the wrathful Achilles aroused the wrath of another more wrathful Achilles...

Atropos: What is Ulysses?

Lachesis:
A person who has erased his own personality.
A person inflected with another person.
That is all and what he was not.
The creature we are now is one -
I know everything and you know nothing;
you chose the direction and I keep quiet.

Atropos:
I listen through the wall
of your breastbone,
sticking close to your armour,
and hear the beating of you heart.
I listen to the beating of my heart.
Call me now Future, Neoptolemus!
Future, which will decide when to call you Past.
And you will hear my voice again
together with the voice of the surf
where bloody waves break against the gates of Troy.
Cruel is the Destiny. Can not be changed.

Clotho:
Blood is the meaning of wounds,
and pain is nothing but a former shadow
which the sun has thrown away
in the deathless sultriness of dead people.
And I am neither happy nor unhappy,
foreseeing happiness, foretasting sorrow.
Oh, this noise, I hear the groans of Troy from here!
Oh, this noise, I hear the groans of Troy from here!
Oh, this noise I hear the groans of Troy from here!

3. THE ICE ANGEL

/Ananke, Animator/

(Unexpectedly the broadcasting of non-military radio station is heard.)

Animator’s voice:
" And now some advertisements. The offer of a Travel Agency for a sea vacation to Greece..."

Ananke
Oh, how beautiful is Hellas!
The outspread fingers of the hand
Cyclades,
Sporades
the Dodecanese.
Peloponnesus,
Thessaly,
Epirus
on the mounts of the hand.
I put a ring on her finger,
and it is like a loving serpent
because it is the ring of war.
Everywhere -
on land,
in the air
and on the water,
in omens,
in portents
and in the dreams of children
is heard the ringing sound of metal hitting metal.
The sword would give everything for a drop of blood.

4. THE TACTICS AT LEMNOS

/Ulysses, Cadets’ representative/

(Commands and the beating of drums are heard.)

Cadets’ representative:
Dear cadets! Please, greet the honourable guest of the Naval Academy. The topic of his lecture is: "The Tactics at Lemnos. Actions in the rear. Strategy of landing. The Bridgehead."

Ulysses:
Let's look... (The microphone distorts his voice.) Let's look at this diagram....

5. OPEN ISLANDS

/Chorus of the Oarsmen as follows: Choriphaeus, Necrogenes, Eurilochus, Teratheus, Perimedes/

Necrogenes: The coast is in front of us!
Eurilochus: The island is close!
Necrogenes: Let those who sleep go on sleeping!
Eurilochus: The oarsmen - go on rowing!
Chorus: Go on rowing!
Tarateus: What is going to happen is presaged
by signs in the sky
Perimedes: by movements in the earth
Tarateus: by the birth of a child a woman gives
Perimedes: by the dead with their decay
Chorus: by those half-alive with their deadliness.
Deadliness!

Necrogenes: Do not tie the rope onto islands of salt!
Eurilochus: Work the oars with all your might!
Necrogenes: Spread all the sails!
Perimedes: But do not stop at an island of salt!
Salt is the captive of water.
Eurilochus: Here it smells of decay!

Coryphaeus: Keep quiet!
Just row!
The sleeping go on sleeping after the long journey.
They come from Troy!
This one and that one too!

Necrogenes: Let us row!
Eurilochus: And bend low
as low as we can!
Teratheus: We are nothing but oars,
beating the water.
Perimedes: Ours is the journey,
but not the island!
Teratheus: There are two kings!
Each one with a heart.
But even If the heart
of a king stops beating,
or blood stains the hands of a king,
ours will be only the water.
Perimedes: We will shed the blood of the waves.
Chorus: We are only the oarsmen!

Teratheus: The water smells of decay!
Necrogenes: Of the smell of death!

Coryphaeus: I shall cut off the nose of each one,
so that you would not be able to smell!
Go on rowing!
And keep your fears to yourselves!
We are taking to the land
two man from Troy.
This one and that one too.

Chorus: Destiny will determine the fate of two kings.
No one else but their legs
will forge on the land the sharp edge of the road
which will take them back
or will never take them back.
Perimedes: Here I sign
with the oar on the sea -
Taratheus and Perimedes: there!
Eurilochus and Necrogenes: And so do we!

Coryphaeus: Keep rowing!
Let he who sleeps go on sleeping!
Chorus: We are a naval force,
keeping the sea beneath us awake
and guarding over the sleep of two kings.

Coryphaeus: Hey, island,
we are bringing to you two kings
all the way from Troy!
Chorus: This one
and that one too!

6. OVERHEARD TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

/Counter-intelligence officer, Counter-intelligence boss/

(A telephone conversation, heard on a tapped line. A counter-intelligence officer reporting to his boss.)

Counter-intelligence boss: Right!
Counter-intelligence officer: Archive file of the naval Counter-intelligence. Archive and code name: Philoctetes
naval officer
a military cross - 1978, 1980 and 1986.
Counter-intelligence boss: Yes.
Counter-intelligence officer: - commander of a squad - 1988. Badly wounded on June 12, 1978. His leg was operated on. First offence, September 14, 1988. He did not report to Headquarters for a routine check up.
Counter-intelligence boss: Yes.
Counter-intelligence officer: September 21 - an action in the Pacific under the code name of "TROY". He crossed the demarcation line against the orders of the his superiors.
Counter-intelligence boss: Yes.
Counter-intelligence officer: September 22 - deserted together with his squad. October and November 1988 - he was traced on the atoll with the code name LEMNOS.
And now Ulysses... From his Medical file... Expertise signed by the Chief Physician of the Fleet. "The case should be officially investigated." His archive file... Archive and code name - “ Ulysses ”: "...had psychological problems as a cadet. Having this information in his dossier, I think a serious mistake has been made. A second expertise was necessary. They didn't check him up to establish whether he was capable of taking adequate decisions under conditions of stress." Analysis of officer X., a staff psychologist.
Counter-intelligence boss: Further on!
Counter-intelligence officer: October 14, 1988 - 11 members of the squad had hallucinations after landing on the LEMNOS atoll. October 15, 1988 - a junior officer with the code name of “ Neoptolemus ”. Permanent nervous disorder. He guarded the body of the general “ Philoctetes ” who had deserted after the campaign.. Extract from a record from the tapped conversation is attached: /Ulysses voice on the tape: "...I shall poison the water of the bay. They're in the water. They're in the water. They're in the water... "/ The team of doctors are firmly convinced that this is hallucinations. The general, a junior officer and eleven marines from the punitive detachment were affected. The hallucinations are the result of nervous strain during landing. End.

7. THE SEA-OCEAN

/Chimera, Scilla, Charybdis, Calypso, Penelope,
Chorus of the Three Sirens as follows: Ligeia, Leucosia, Parthenope /

Chimera:
I am the sea Ocean.
I am the raven,
in whose eye looks
the victory you missed.
I see the ships.
I see your sails.
I see your oars.
I see the pain in the hands of the oarsmen.
I see the sound of the pulleys and the ropes.
Your end
is now beginning.
Ulysses, play for a little while
with your dream.
We will soon play with nightmares
but then you will be awake.
Am I Medusa
or Chimera?
Have you not ever lain
under the branches
of my horror?
Who needs you,
and who does not
need you?
Oh, how I hate to tell you lies!
Why should I not
wake you up right away
and scream in your face
all the truths!
Why should I
not speak with all my voices?
With the voices of all the Sirens,
with the voices of Scilla and Charybdis,
with the voice of the falling tears of Calypso,
with the appealing voice of Penelope.
I will give all the water -
all the water in their hands.
They break their nails
and each one of them is on her coast,
and each one of them is with her horror,
and each one of them dips her hands in the murky surf,
taking out empty shells,
and drinking your traces
on the other side of the sea.
Their hope no longer bites the worm
of the fear of which they do not want to hear -
that you will not be
with Scilla,
with Calypso
with Charybdis,
with your numerous Penelopes.
The mares break your ankles
on the stony coast.
I am sick and tired of their "Come!"
So, it is better for you to go away.
Now you'll see, Ulysses,
now you'll see!
The egg of your death
is already falling,
it has been dropped from high above -
and it will fall in your eye.
The end of hopes and crying comes...

Penelope:
This is the end of shirts and yarns...

Chimera:
... and decay begins.

Penelope:
... there comes a wake and a grave.

Scilla:
Deadly thin become the eyebrows
there are no irises no sight.

Charybdis:
Dead fish float in the nets
in the deadly ground swell.

Penelope:
The end of secrets and of schemes has come,
no more waiting-doubts.

Chimera:
You will wake up
in the eye of the storm
every time with the voice
of a dying sailor.

Scilla:
You wake up again!

Charybdis
It is dark again

Ligeia
My eyes I strain,
but I see no coast!

Leucosia
There is no coast!

Parthenope
There is no coast!

Chimera
They are impatiently
waiting for you...

Charybdis
At Charybdis'!

Chimera
... beyond.
Telemachus dreams of you...

Penelope
... in the milk of my breasts.

Chimera
Ithaca is now so close.
The judge of your lies.

Penelope
The favorite of your eyes.

Chimera
The one who lives in sorrow
has tied her vigilant eyes -
in the eye of the night and the storm,
away from home,
you will turn into foam.
And you were so close to the end
of the ocean where the grass begins.
The people on this island
hold you dear...

Penelope
... but they will never see you again...

Chimera
And you will never see them again.
You can reach Ithaca
if you go into the waters
of the Atlantis.

Penelope
You will see me on the coast beyond!

Chimera
Remember, you will see me
on the coast...

Calypso /using Chimera’s voice/:
Speed
slows down time.
All parts of the world
dear to us
become distant.
A shadow falls over the ship,
the water beneath the oars
grows dark.
We forget the place,
we forget the name,
we forget our spite,
fed up by the udders
of thousands hanging moons.
I have forgiven you
everything.
Will you forgive yourself
the fact that you sneaked up to me,
almost half asleep,
choosing my warmth,
when it was winter in the sea?
I was closest to you -
the only summer!
Have you forgiven yourself?
Have you hung up to dry,
yuor clothes washed clean on Ithaca?
Have you offered
a purifying sacrifice to memory?
The fly-death now buzzes not so loud
in the bell of your ear.
Did you wash the girdle,
did you rub off with salt
the taste of my scented oil?
Having lost all your shields,
you crawled to my island,
and lay in my shell.
Keeping awake
when you slept
bathed in love.
That is all.
The whole of the Aegean sea
learned about it,
and the sea became feminine.
I was what I was.
And I stopped
at the horizon
when Ulysses sailed away.
I uttered abuses
through the trumpets of the seasons,
and cursed all gods.
I brought down the water of a cloud
and washed my throat,
my stomach
and my thighs.
It has long been the last day.
Your years with Penelope were seven.
Your years with Calypso were seven.
With Medusa - the pain of love squeezed dry.
The Sirens of Scilla and Charybdis -
cut up in morsels for the dish
of your tender lips,
your white teeth,
and your palate.

Damn you, Ulysses!

Do not fall asleep -
when in the short afternoon
you hang your head you will see me -

I am waiting.

I am much more than all the Sirens!
I am longer than Scilla and Charybdis!

Only Troy is longer.

But I was yours
while Troy was never yours...

8. THREE WARS

/Ananke, Chorus of the Three Moirai as follows: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos/

Ananke and Chorus: Come to the dark side!
Come to the dark side!
It is not nighttime!
It is not daytime!
It is not a dream!
The old wound opens death.
Now!
Let a Greek meet a Greek.
Will the Greeks embrace the Greek?
No!
Let the sword pick the flowers of blood!
Stains...
More stains....
And more stains...
Three dark suns.
The voice of night silences the earth.
Rust.
There is no time tomorrow.
There is no where tomorrow.
Everything will stop tomorrow.
And so...

Ananke: Let us spin!
Lachesis: Let us weave!
Clotho: Let us knit!
Ananke: Let us plough
in the field of life
the furrow of death.

Lachesis: Now!
Ananke: Time has stopped.
Clotho: Will the time of war stop?
Chorus: No!
Ananke: Let the ox plough
the furrow of death.

Lachesis: One,
Clotho: and one more,
Lachesis: and yet one more! Three
Clotho: threads-destinies!
Lachesis: Let us tie them together!
Chorus: Let them be sisters!
Ananke: Three - one over the other,
bow-strings of death.
Troy is the throne of the world today,
because it is the town of war
Olympus is deserted,
the gods are in Troy
conducting the war.
And so...

Lachesis: This island is mine!
Ananke: This island is mine!
Clotho: This island is mine!
Ananke: Joy, victory and defeat.
Troy in ruins!
Lemnos in ruins!
Lachesis: Sciros in ruins!
Ananke: Melos in ruins!
Clotho: Ithaca in ruins!
Chorus: The thread is ready,
the thread is waiting!
Ananke: Three bodies,
ready to capture,
the three of them captive of the thread.
Lachesis: A skillful serpent - a string of the bow.
A ball of lies!
Ananke: Tie up the ball!
Lachesis: A thread of blood!
Will entwine Ulysses!
Ananke: Down!
So young!
Beardless!
Woven out of down,
a giant with milk-teeth!
Neoptolemus cord
which has had not enough
of blood.
Neoptolemus,
the new time has come!
Throw away the diapers!
We are weaving clothes for a man.
Neoptolemus!
Clotho: Dumb and pale,
hollow with pus,
crippled,
old, rusty,
deaf and wild,
salted in salt,
dry, crooked and bitter,
already dead,
yet still very bad
and that is why still alive,
deaf and wild,
dumb and pale
Philoctetes!

9. NEWS

/News reporter/

(A deserted beach. A loudspeaker. A radio-news item.)

According to data from the Information Agency of the Marine Armed Forces during a routine military exercise in the Pacific Ocean, near the atoll code-named LEMNOS, in a training exercise simulating actions of surpressing mutiny, 32 military men including the commanding officer of the United forces, have died in a misfortunate accident. A committee has been elected to investigate the causes of the incident. Precautionary measures have been taken. The Training Operations Head-quarters, 'TROY', have authorized The Marine Information Agency to make the following announcement: Apart from the above mentioned misfortunate accident in the region of the atoll there are no other incidents. Rumors of a mutiny during the military exercises as well as those of cases of desertion of members of the special branches are pure fabrications.

10. MUTINY

/Chorus of the Oarsmen as follows: Choriphaeus, Necrogenes, Eurilochus, Teratheus, Perimedes/

Coryphaeus: The ship
lay it upside down!
Tar the keel!
Fix the mast!

Perimedes: Poor thing -
will carry yet one more!
Necrogenes: Where?
There is no place
for a third king!

Coryphaeus: Hush! Sew the sails!

Teratheus: Hideous land!
A dead shore!
Perimedes: Shall we go?
Let them stay.
They will find the short way
without our help.
I think I would like tomorrow to be
as alive as I am today.

Coryphaeus: Keep quiet!
Who do you think
you are to row
in such thoughts
and row
against the Monarch's flow?!
A wise oarsman?

Perimedes: Sailor, do not blame
fate in future -
remember Phyloctetes!
A king with two servants - two hands,
one fine leg,
and one with a poisoned arrow in it.
Teratheus: Thersitis!
He had to eat dust
they said he must!
Perimedes: He had to drink mud!
Teratheus: With new illnesses
he cured his old wounds,
On his skin there were marks of rusty chains.
Perimedes: With chains of shame
he was seen by all living things.
Teratheus: And all know that his kind
live as a shade upon a grave.
Perimedes: Dead flesh he eats,
when his arrow hits a vulture.

Chorus: The man is a dog!

Teratheus: Sailor, he - a fish in an ocean of pus may weep!
But you - sing in a voice that is deep!

Necrogenes: Ulysses!
Eurilochus: Ulysses is returning!
Returning home.
Or perhaps not?
What is he doing?
Necrogenes: He's chewing the air!
Eurilochus: Talking maybe?
Maybe praying?
Necrogenes: Praying to our gods,
or to some new local god?
Eurilochus: For some new knowledge?
Sly fox!
Necrogenes: Hey, Ulysses,
make a sacrifice -
sacrifice a lie for us.

Coryphaeus: Quiet!
Whoever speaks too much
will lose his tongue,
You ants!
Work!
Fasten the ropes!
Keep tight the sails!
Dry the planks!
Take out the oars!
Raise the prow!
Unfurl the sails!
Pour the tar!
Glue the mouth!

11. ORDERS TO PUNISH

/Ulysses/

Ulysses: Listen! Listen now... I don’t need your explanations! Lock up the whole bunch! Lock them immediately! Yes. All of them. I said, all of them! Locked! All!

(Only Ulysses's voice can be heard. We cannot hear the answers. Ulysses issues orders unceremoniously.Then the Walkie-Talkie is heard and then it turns into the sound of surf... Sea gulls... A shore...)

12. UNFINISHED CONVERSATIONS

/Ulysses/

(Ulysses is walking along the beach.)

Ulysses:
Actually apart from the unfavorable weather forecast... Well, I must say, that apart from the fact that we did not have many options still open to us, because our divers had gone into the sea in the bay... He was in a weaker position... No, I do not mean that the atoll.... geographically... No, he was just totally defenseless... All the time I had the feeling that there is some other... A-h, no, they would not admit it... This is a law of secrecy... But I can speak now... Of course I have no regrets... I have no...

(Pause. Strikes a match and lights a cigarette.)

13. MICROSCOPE

/Ananke and the Chorus of the Three Moirai as follows: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos
Chorus of the Oarsmen as follows: Choriphaeus, Necrogenes, Eurilochus, Teratheus, Perimedes/

Ananke:
Do not petition me, petitioner!
I do not know
what comes
from the place where
there is no god.
Fate
was not conceived.
Man is not born
of an egg.
Our bodies are not carved
of stone
and even the Moirai
do not know
how the plant
of which the thread unseen
of fate is made
is sown
and how
it grows.
Do not petition me, petitioner!
Distances are never
more distant than the end.
The ship's course
is unclear of course,
and in the heavy oars
our fate
is harnessed.

Clotho: Ananke, goddess!
Not yet.
It is not night yet.
Allow us more time.
Brush the fur of the sacred goat,
gather more wool and let us weave
Lachesis: and spin...
Clotho: and knit...

Chorus of the Three Moirai:
More thread,
fate before the eyes
of the dead,
hollow bodies -
the end of a flash called now.
There is more of what -
So let us chose an answer to whom.

Atropos: More you say?
Clotho: Not yet.
Lachesis: Not yet the net.
Chorus of the Three Moirai: Not daylight yet.

Chorus of the Oarsmen:
You can tell I know
who am I
But tomorrow
you will know
that you am I
and that we burn down
at equal speed.
What is it
I know of life,
except the wonderment of sailing?
What is that death
can teach us?

Necrogenes: That the spear is sharp.
Eurilochus: That an arrow will pearce.
Teratheus: That a stone can crack a skull.
Perimedes: That one hit in the legs will fall.

Coryphaeus: You disgraceful coward!
You have come from a cowards bunch.
A rabbits' trail could lead me
to less cowardly paths!
If only I had my way!

14. CODE “ NEOPTOLEMUS ”

/Ulysses, Neoptolemus, Bomber 2, Bomber 4/

(An airborne landing. Helicopters. Bombing.)

Bomber 2: Coming in from the left.

Ulysses: Beware! Code: “Neoptolemus ”. Jump! I want him. Him or his body. I will hold you responsible. Neoptolemus, can you hear me! Act now. In a minute I commence shelling. You do not have much time.

Bomber 2: Can you hear me, Ulysses. They have all jumped.

Ulysses: Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus. Where are you?

Bomber 2:: I do not see them either. They must have landed. I cannot see through all that smoke!

Ulysses: Neoptolemus... Neoptolemus... If they have landed why don't they answer? They must have been killed. Prepare the shells.

Bomber 2: I'm on course towards the northern quay! What is happening? Please speak! Are we to sacrifice those soldiers? How should I proceed?

Ulysses: Fire!

Bomber 2: Yes sir.

Neoptolemus: Neoptolemus speaking. We found him.

Ulysses: Bomber2! Hold your fire! Hold your fire! Wait for further instructions!

Bomber 2: That was close. I nearly fried them.

Ulysses: Neoptolemus, get out of there! I want him alive!

Neoptolemus: He won't live. Not with those wounds. There's no use trying. We can't save him...

Ulysses: I want his body! Get him out of there!

Neoptolemus: That's none of my business...

Ulysses: I want the body!

Neoptolemus: I do not speak, I cannot understand foreign languages...

Ulysses: I want the body!

Neopthoilemus: I do not speak this language... In my school they did not teach foreign languages... I do not understand... Nonsense.....

Ulysses: Bomber 2. No use in waiting. They must be dead. Fire!

Bomber 2: Towards the north quay.

Bomber 4: I'll be coming in from your left!

Bomber 2: All right boys, let's kick some ass.

Bomber 4: Music to my ears!

Bomber 2: Stay on course!

Bomber 4: Do you think anything will be left of this atoll?

Bomber 2: I think we'll sink it!

Bomber 4: Let's get on with it!

15. EXODUS

/Chorus of the Oarsmen as follows: Choriphaeus, Necrogenes, Eurilochus, Teratheus, Perimedes
Chorus of the Three Sirens as follows: Ligeia, Leucosia, Parthenope/

Necrogenes: They are coming.
Eurilochus: They are marching.
Perimedes: Dragging the body.
Necrogenes: Who has been killed?
Eurilochus: Who is alive?
Teratheus: Who is he?
Perimedes: Who is lying there?
Eurilochus: Whom are those two carrying?

Necrogenes: Who will bequeath his blood
to the shore?
Perimedes: Who is this
limp in his clothes?
Teratheus: Who is this
who does not breathe?
Perimedes: Who is this
who writes in blood
on the beach
of the salty blade
that has cut up
the isle of life
into the sea of death?
Eurilochus: With a bow
it moves noiselessly -
smart snake
of Ithaca.

Primedes: They are coming.
Eurilochus: Two murderers.
Teratheus: The third man
has no life in his legs,
Perimedes: no strength in his arms,
Eurilochus: no voice in his throat.

Coryphaeus: Pull up the oars!
Free all the ropes!
Back to the sea!
Troy is this way.
What is done is done -
it is again our turn.
Go forth!

Ligeia: Come back, Ulysses!
Leucosia: Gone is his world,
Parthenope: gone are the heroes,
Leucosia: gone are the floods,
Parthenope: and the masters of war.

Leucosia: Longer are the syllables
Parthenope: ever longer
Leucosia: the breath of tongue pours out...
Ligeia: ... and the voices echo with the songs of unleashed vowels -
Chorus of the Three Sirens: We are this flowing song!

Leucosia: We sing along!
Parthenope: We sing along!
Ligeia: Song!
Chorus of the Three Sirens: This voice of tongue
thirsty
having drunk all vowels.
Hear the hive of end!
Chorus of the Three Sirens: Hear what heaves in us -
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
aaaaaaaaaahhhhh
eeeeeeeeehhhhhh
uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh
ooooooooooooooo!
Chorus of the Oarsmen: Bleat
bawl
cry
moo
whine
sob
shout
scream
chant
sigh
weep
squeal
ruckle
bark
with us

Both Choruses: The sea is pus, Ulysses,
do not go swimming further
into the dead flesh of the earth!

Coryphaeus: Heroism lies waiting there!

Both Choruses: Lies, lies, lies, lies...

16. ASHES

/Chorus of the Oarsmen as follows: Choriphaeus, Necrogenes, Eurilochus, Teratheus, Perimedes/

Perimedes: They must be dead
in Troy.
Having opened up
the wound of war.
Eurilochus: Phyloctetes,
you are now simply flesh,
but we hang from the tree.
The fruit of death.
Necrogenes: For me there is
an arrow in Troy.
It will pierce me through the heart.
I will go against a sword.
I will cover myself
with thick armor
and will be just decoration
a man of metal,
more bracelet than man,
upon a metal wrist.
I feel sorrow for myself.
Perimedes: I row but am
already dead
a corpse,
a breathing corpse,
its hands will not let go the oars,
an eye in place of one eye
a void in place of the other.
I am ice
in hot water,
I disappear in death,
one day before I go.
I am an abyss,
falling into an abyss.
Yet the hands still row -
memories last
of sweet labor.
Eurilochus: I will fall
in Troy's moat
I am the game
for tomorrow's hunt.
There are sharpened poles
in a trap for me
like a wild boar
I will be pierced
through and through
ten times
through the flesh
the skin
the bone
the muscle
through the gristle.
I am a skeleton
dressed in mud.
Tomorrow
in hot water
the mud, transient me,
will be washed away!
I am in horror, that is all I can say.

Teratheus: Still blood today -
tomorrow limp as a rag.
One more day
and I will be dust,
my blood will be wine
in a wine-skin body.
One more day
and I will be memory of homeless wind.
Nothing will be
that never was.
The mouth has eaten all
and will no longer eat tomorrow.

Coryphaeus: Quiet!
If only I could
push out on my own
all the ships to Troy!
I would have chewed with my own teeth
all those
pathetic slaves,
men-women
with soft bones,
with broken skin,
with weak hearts,
with squirming mouths,
with their milk teeth still,
I would have eaten them all!
Slobbering slime!
Halfmen!
Grab the oars!
Keep the right course!
No talking!
You can only sing
if you want.
Once again
we are on our way.
Rowing towards the shore,
because a shore
is typical of earth.
Once again we are off
towards the war.

17. THE WALL

/An Unknown Creature/

An Unknown Creature:
Nothing is left of the buildings
except the wall of Troy.
The Wall of Troy
that stops infinity.
Roll in the feet of war
that measure - the ball
that is Earth,
the last thing left of the balance.
Murder the moment
hiding in the heart of Troy,
for the world will never commence,
only the day will commence once again.
The world will never commence once again,
only the day will commence once again...

18. LETTER FOR ULYSSES

/Chimera, Penelope, Scilla, Charybdis/

Chimera:
A letter for Ulysses,
sent in blood
along the veins
over the arches of the heart.
It is time to give the words shelter
in your body that knows no shelter.
There is water only in words.
Beyond this world is the breeze
that carries the aromas of the earth.
And what is done is done,
the past is in the past,
the end is called the end!
The year has come to an end,
winter enters your heart -
give the last thing,
to the one who takes!

Penelope:
Are you returning to darkness, Ulysses?

Charybdis:
I lie on the seabed waiting,
my gills wave free,
on the sand you can see
all the sadness of me
while you were away, Ulysses.
Come!
I will swallow you.
In the sea
the monster waits for me.
Completely everything
will flow out
with the waves that know no shore
in the eye.

Penelope:
Poor thing...

Charybdis:
Poor thing...

Penelope:
Poor thing...

Chimera:
Ulysses,
wake up in the night
cold
uncovered as you are.
Look, you,
the earth is a whale.
The sea is all the rest.

Charybdis:
I am cursed to be at the bottom
with the rust of all dead bodies.
Come on, come,
kiss the end of the worm which is me
and which one day you too will be.
The gods are reflections
of drops that fall in the sea
while the whale
splashes with its tail.
After the death of the black spindle
I will make candles that will not go out,
candles made of whale sperm.
And then we'll nap
both of us dead
under that undying light.
The year is over.
The winter arrives through the gates
of your wounds.
I am Charybdis,
rotting in the empty feeling
of your absence
for you still have not returned.
The stomach is empty,
I have drunk all the water
of the world -
and I am still not satisfied!
Stop your wandering!

Scilla:
I am Scilla,
and Scilla is
rock
sifting the sea with blows.
Where is it,
what is it,
that which
I stuffed with spite in my teeth
and long afterwards spat out the wood and oars
towards the bay of Atlantis?
Why did you lie to me:
“ I am coming, I am coming ”?
I awaited that moment -
to cram the horizons
in that wooden machine of yours.
Are you afraid of the rock?

Chimera:
Could I be Medusa,
or am I Chimera?
Have you ever slept under the branches of my horror?
Who needs you and who does not need you?
But let me tell your fortune -
what remains is that
which for you remains.
Even Atlantis is under the water
to free your way to Ithaca.

Penelope:
You can see me on the coast beyond.

Chimera:
Remember -

Penelope:
You can see me on the coast beyond!

Chimera:
But can you count for me
in your dream the serpants
of my hair?
Am I Medusa,
or am I Chimera?
What is that
which is nothing -
death caused by
waiting?
What is the voice of the letter?
- Gold that is melting?
- Or the golden caterpillars
that crawl upon my thighs
when I remember Ulysses?

19. DICTAPHONE

/Ulysses/

(A dictaphone accidentally left on. The sounds can hardly be made out: a recording made in a ship's cabin.)

Ulysses:
Which of them is it? I will dismiss the leadsman from the watch. Go on ahead without me. Listen to me carefully. Close your eyes and sail the boat without thinking. Just listen to me. And relax. This is my sea. Ithaca is close. I feel it.

(Sound of the opening of a bottle... A sip from a glass...)

This is my sea. Make a wide turn Make a circle. Follow your trail. Go two degrees to the right. The sun will rise behind you. When the wind begins to sound its horn from the side let go of the helm. Let the ship flow with the stream. Count to three hundred. Now you are on the other side of the rocks. Now watch. You will know the way... Clear it of the nettles... I cannot travel any longer... and to know... I do not want to know... Whether in time when the wars become even shorter... I am very tired... I am making this recording at 3.25 a.m....

(The click of a button is heard. Then another click. A new recording.)

20. ODYSSEUS TO TELEMACHUS
by Joseph Brodski

/Ulysses/

/french version/

Ulysses:

Ulysse ? T?l?maque.

T?l?maque, mon fils, la guerre de Troie
a pris fin. Qui l’a gagn?e , je n’en sais rien.
Les Grecs, sans doute: pour jetter ? la rue
tant et tant de morts, il n’y aque les Grecs!
Elle a pris fin; mais le chemin du retour
si tu savais combien il me para?t long!
Comme si Pos?idon, pendant que l?-bas
nous perdions le temps, avait brouill? l’espace.
/ ... /
Je ne sais pas plus comment la guerre a fini,
et j’ai perdu le compte de tes ann?es.
Deviens grand, mon T?l?maque, deviens homme!
Les dieux seuls savent si nous nous reverrons.
D?j? tu n’es plus le petit nourisson
devant qui je dus arr?ter les taureaux.
/ ... /
Mais il n’avait peut-?tre pas tort: sans moi
tu es affranchi du torment oedipien,
et tes songes, mon T?l?maque, sons sans p?ch?.

TOP OF THE PAGE

Copyright 2002 © Triumviratus Art Group. All rights reserved.