Starving Artist and the Chimp (Part III)

Libretto for an Opera


ACT III

Francais is at stage left, in a spotlight.

I went to work
It was my last day as editor of the opinion pages
At the local Herald

My plan was
To spend the day cleaning my desk
Throwing out old files

But the receptionist
Paged me to the front desk
A man was there

Bill enters stage left, stands next to Francais.

Hello, my name is Bill
I think you will want to publish my poem
In tomorrow’s paper

Francais:

Nice to meet you Bill,
I’m Francais and I will consider your poem
For the op-ed page

Bill:

Oh Mister Francais
I am sure that you will do more than
Just consider it

Bill exits stage right.

Francais:

I went back to my desk
I didn’t think too much more about Bill
The newsroom was abuzz

Someone had opened
All of the cages at the local zoo
And the animals were out

Gazelles wandering
And snakes slithering around town
Down the streets

Then I remembered
The notebook I found and the story
Of the artist and chimp

The Notebook writer mentioned
The Literary and Writing forum
On Craigslist

So I logged on
To see if I could find a way to track down
The Notebook Writer

And I read
IAA’s version of the Starving Artist
And the chimp

IAA enters stage left.

IAA:

The high had lasted weeks
Bill crept from under stoops to attics
To back yards

He wrote poetry
In the bushes with stolen pen and paper
He lived for art

Women loved him
Some nights one would take him home and feed him
Then he would leave

After all
A starving artist looks just like
A rich kid slumming

One day he woke up
And rummaged through a dumpster
But couldn’t find food

At that moment
He became obsessed with the idea
Of Henry Miller

Bill enters stage right:

Bill:

Henry Miller
Henry Miller, Henry Miller, Henry Miller
I said to myself

All day long
Henry Miller, Henry Miller, Henry Miller
Henry Miller

And into the night
I asked himself why I had become
So obsessed

I took a bus
To St. Anthony’s for a free meal but
They had stopped serving

I said to myself
I’m hungry here just like Henry was hungry
In Paris

The church doors
Were closed and I thought I might never
Eat a meal again

Tall Bum and Short Bum enter stage right.

A puff of smoke
Rose above two men who were
At the side of the church

Tall Bum:

You jonesin’?

Bill:

I don’t need drugs, I’m just very hungry.

Short Bum:

Here’s 10 bucks.
Go get us some food
Three burgers from Carl’s Jr. And some fries.

Tall Bum:

Hey, not so fast
Why don’t you leave your bag here?
But first smoke some weed

The three men smoke together. Bill exits stage right. The two bums take his bag and exit stage left. Bill returns stage right with a Carl’s Jr. bag.

They took my bag!
They stole my bag, my poetry
And now I’m stoned

Bill sits on the floor and starts eating a burger.

IAA:

He ate the food
The three burgers were good but then
The high wore off

He grew aware
Of his bleak situation
His desperation

Bill:

I have become
A street person, a derelict
I said to myself

My plan has gone wrong
I gave my possessions away
I faked my own death

At the beach I watch
The seagulls flying, seeking scraps
I’m a gull too

I live on scraps
Hey, that’s pretty good, should I
Write it down?

IAA:

“Are you a painting?”
It was a voice in his head
Asking him that

Is this art?
Are you a living work of art?
Said the voice in his head

Bill:

I need a muse
I will hide at my aunt’s house
On the way there

I passed the zoo
That would be a good place
To plan my next move

So I went back
Later that night with wire cutters
I stole from a shop

IAA:

He climbed the wall
Got into the zoo, wandered around
Under the stars

Bill walks back and forth across the stage, looking out over the audience as if they were animals in the zoo.

Bill:

I have found
A new kind of poetry tonight at the zoo
It’s animal magic!

The chimp enters stage right, holds up her hands in fists as if she were clinging to the bars of her cage. Bill approaches her. He brings his face to hers. She kisses him.

Bill:

I will free you
And all the rest of the chimps
Other animals, too

Dancers with animal masks enter stage left and perform. Bill takes the chimp’s hand and they exit stage right. The dancers complete their ballet and exit stage right. A table with a fruit bowl on it is placed on the stage. Bill and the Chimp enter stage right and sit at the table. The chimp takes a persimmon and eats it. Bill is writing.

IAA:

The chimp was full
And Bill wrote his poem about the night
He freed all the beasts

Their fate was
The same fate as the artist
The very same fate

They are all
Slaves to humanity, animals and artists
Slaves to humanity

He’d made his statement
And signed his masterpiece
With his real name

And brought it to
Every newspaper with circulation
In the tri-county area

Francais holds up the manuscript.

IAA

Then Bill moved back
To the basement of his old
Victorian flat

He wired it up
Filled it with light bulbs
And brought the chimp

It was warm, it was bright
The chimp came and went as she pleased
Bill wrote and wrote

Bill wrote his poem
He framed an indictment of modern life
He spoke for us all

For the abused
For robots, for artists, for women
Humanity’s slaves

All of us are
Slaves to humanity, slaves to humanity
All of us

As night would fall
The chimp climbed in his arms
To hold him close

Francais

Two and two I can do
So I read the poem Bill gave me
And it’s all true

Bill: (aria)

I, Bill C. Schneiderman, do hereby declare
From this year forth, this date shall bear
The name Animal Freedom Day
Across the mighty nation of U.S.A.
And that is in honor of what I created
By seeing the beasts liberated:
In the name of all robots and slaves
I freed giraffes from their pens, the chimps from their cage
Flamingos, go! Polar bears, dare!
Each zoo animal, no matter where
Shall know what it is to be free
To roam the streets, to climb the trees!
And so from the depth of our inhibited beingness
We shall recognize all of our animal needingness
To burst forth from our cages, real and unreal
To breathe, to see, to touch, to feel
The lesson we take from the zoo liberation
Is that, like beasts, we crave validation.
And what did I learn as I followed my bliss?
There is nothing so sweet as a chimp’s gentle kiss.
So each year we will gather and set the beasts free
And teach the children this example of glee

Bill exits stage left.

Francais:

I decided
I would not publish this poem
For Bill’s own good

So his work,
Like many other great poems
Will remain unread

As I walked home
I sensed a presence as I passed
An alleyway

A pair of eyes
Or was it my imagination
Glowing yellow eyes

Down the alley
Amid trash, rags and cardboard
Glowing reptile eyes

Watching me
Or was it my imagination
Glowing yellow eyes