Canticle the Crabman; Scene 2

Scene 2 (The beach of a deserted island.)

(Canticle improvises a song alone on his deserted island, as he collects berries for his meager dinner)

Canticle:
Heighdy hoe heighdy hee!
Its great to be me!
Alone on a ship...no,
Alone on a desert isle!
I'll be here for quite a while!
And this is my song, sung by my spirit
I'll sing it loud so all souls can hear it!
Hey, I kind of like that.
Hoodeehoo, picking all these berries...This isn't so bad after all. Last night was a little rough; sleeping on that damn straw bed. I'm going to have to find something better than that. Some kind of sack filled with leaves? But I'll have to make a sack somehow. An old shirt? Oh well, I'll figure it out, and that straw isn't SO bad, after all. If worst comes to worst...But oh, those troubling thoughts! Don't want to have those again, no sir. I try to have a sense of humor about it, but really last night was pretty awful. Sometimes I wonder about this world, and it scares me when I start to wander in that direction. Don't go there now, old fellow. Ah but it’s too late. Pointless to try and force yourself not to think about it when you've already thunk it; no matter how hard you try, singing some stupid song, or trying to think other thoughts and "look the other way", you know that thing is looming right there because you can see it out of the corner of your eye the whole time and when you give up trying to think other thoughts its right there where you left it...big and black and snarling...It's not too bad now, which is quite nice, but once the sun goes down, that's when the demons come out, trying to snatch at your soul and whisper into your ear all those nasty thoughts...Geez, Canticle, can't you give it a break? I wonder sometimes, what the devil is wrong with me? Does everyone have this tormenting stream of consciousness, never letting up, day in and day out, never quitting, no time for rest?! When even after a long night of sleep you wake up and it’s just where you left it; it picks up right where it left off, incessantly whispering, doubting, fearing....Ah, dash it all! That's not me! That's not even the half of me! Why, I've got all these other things, my song, my legs…
(he does a merry jig atop a rock, then stops)
Maybe it is a good plan that I get off this island. At first I wanted to stay, thought it would be a good break for me. Hey, if they don't want me I don't want them! Plus I thought I would be able to live a simpler life, collect my own food, cook my own dinners, build a shelter. I needed physical labor to balance out the laziness I acquired from my leisurely castle life. I wanted to be like a simple peasant. They are good people, so pure and free from all this nonsense. They only worry about the necessities; why me, I worry about the color of shirt I am going to wear on the town some nights, or the style of my hair, or the things I am going to say to a pretty girl...Now there's something I'm missing...Maybe this life would be better if I had a pretty little girl of my own. Maybe I'm not doing it right, and that's why it’s not working. That's why it's so damn miserable lying awake for hours at night with nothing to keep me occupied except for my eternally nagging mind. Maybe I'm not working hard enough. Who knows? Who cares?! I want off this island and I want to go back...
Back to what? My old way of life? That's impossible, I've been exiled. Even still, maybe there's a way around it. I could adopt a new name and appearance, start a new life, no one would know. Among people, and food, and real beds, and women, and beer! That's what I want, a cold beer. Blast it all to hell! That's not what I need, that's not going to satisfy my spirit. And without that I'll just be another cow eating its way toward death, as that wise old philosopher says. God, what a terrible thing to be, a cow. I guess, anyways. Some might argue. What was it the Grand Inquisitor said about that? That that's precisely what the people want? To have their freedom taken away? Then what? Then they don't have to worry about making choices, making a way for themselves, asking questions, feeling uncertainty, living life. Life, oh so horrible and wonderful! Can't have the good without the bad though. Can't have true joy without true suffering, without those long nights in the whale's belly, as they say. So I guess I am doing some good here, with these torturous nights. Putting in my time with the old devil, I guess, so I can better recognize God when the time comes. Is that right? Not sure about that one. But I really should get off this island, not to go back to my old life but to start my new quest. And that quest is to do something good and right, which means putting those corrupt officials in their places, exposing the whole damn scandal and clearing my name. Then to take the throne or not, that's another question...A tough question actually, that presents many pros and cons, and seems to have more sides than a shape from Euclid's worst nightmare, or wildest fantasy, whichever one suits him better. So, leave that for now. But, who is this off in the distance? Some uninvited guest? Well, doesn't bother me at all, really. I would kill for some company. Is that one of those North Shore crabs? Some kind of messanger? Ho there!

(end Scene 2)