1

A Song at Night
(A poetic play in 10 scenes)

(work in progress - 8/17/17)

by Roy Conboy

7415 Brenda Way

Rohnert Park, CA 94928
royconboy@yahoo.com
707-400-8866

Copyright, Roy Conboy, 2017

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Character List

Hawk
A spirit, a bird.
She circles in the sky, she walks the earth.
Who knows how old she is.

Claire
Mid-20’s. Latina, probably mixed blood.
A neighborhood girl, and Rafa’s lover, maybe wife.

Rafa
Mid-20’s. Latino, probably mixed blood.
Army vet, multiple campaigns in Iraq.
Neighborhood boy, and Claire’s lover, maybe husband.

Connie
Mid-60’s. Latina, probably mixed blood.
Long time resident of the neighborhood.
Vietnam war widow.

Place and Time

The time is circa 2015.
Theoretically we’re at peace.

The place is a working class suburban neighborhood, ethnically mixed.

The kind of place the affluent call a ghetto.
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Author’s Note
Journey of the pulsing blood through sand, brain, bed, jungle. And sky.
It’s like a dream. But it’s too real.
The soldier that can’t return, the lover that can’t give up.
When the parade’s over who’s left to sweep up?

Note On Production
Think low tech. Think teatro, and street theater.
Yeah there’s flying, but no harnesses por favor.
Maybe it’s done with puppets, or platforms, or fence climbing. Or just wings.
In collaboration with the audience’s imaginations and dreams.

Many lines in this play end with ellipses. These are meant to indicate that the rest of
the line remains unspoken. Let these and other poetic devices play out.

Also, there’s smoking. Please fake it.

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A red-tailed hawk circled over head.

Church on the hill knew what she said.
(Los Lobos: “Down By the Riverside”)

I would offer you my pulse, I would give you my breath.

I would offer you my pulse, I would give you my breath.
I would offer you my pulse, I would give you my breath…
(Annie DiFranco: “Pulse”)
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A Song At Night

Scene One

(Pieces of a small world. A suburban street, a

bedroom, a fence, a front porch, the sky.

Lights rise on a dark night, lit only by a street light, and

the sliver of a waxing moon.

On a front porch an old woman, CONNIE, sits sleeping

in a chair.

In the bedroom next door, a young man, RAFA, sleeps

restlessly. A young woman, CLAIRE, sits at the
window.

A HAWK circles in the sky.)

HAWK
I sing the night -
the dark
the wind
the stars
the distant fire.
I circle between earth and sky,
dirt, street, house, and tree,
beneath the cold infinity.

CLAIRE
Oh mira, baby. Mira. Out there with the stars, out there con la luna. Can you see
her? Circling? Circling en la noche…?

HAWK
Circling for the heat I sense,
the pounding of the sangre,
the sweat of the distress.
Circling for the call
that echoes in the silence.

Somewhere from the thicket of bedrooms,

from asphalt, fences, and broken suenos,
I feel it -
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the blood
the heat,
the dream,
the burning out
of breathing…

CLAIRE
She’s the thinnest blade of wings in the dark sky – like a knife, like a cold, hard knife
riding on el aire.

She’d be invisible if it weren’t for la luna. And silent as she dives, cutting through el
viento y el cielo with her sharp blade.

HAWK
Circling for the heat I sense,
the pounding of the sangre,
the sweat of the distress.
Circling for the call
that echoes in the silence,
that sings me down from the sky -
that awakens
the urge in my talons,
that fires
the blood in my beak.
El impulso en mi espada,
la sangre en mi nariz.

CLAIRE
Should I call the hawk down, mi vida? Should I call her down? With her sharp claws
maybe she can cut away your pain. With the blade in her soul maybe she can slice
through your nightmares and your memories. Maybe her sharp edges can cut away
your wounds.

HAWK
The urge in my talons,
the blood in my beak.
El impulso en mi espada,
la sangre en mi nariz.

CLAIRE
Hey, Hawk? Oye, mujer? Can you see us? Can you sense our breathing? With your
ojos muy ricos? With your senses so full of pride?

Oye, mujer, is it time? At last?

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Can we sing you down? Persuade you down? Dance you down? Drag you down?
From the dark sky?

(The HAWK does not reply. RAFA moves restlessly in

the bed. CLAIRE turns to him.)

CLAIRE
It’s okay, mi vida. It’s okay.
Calmate. Calmate.
They’re only dreams. Only illusions. Only a mirage in the distant past – sand, land
mines, and IED’s.

It’s okay, mi vida. It’s okay. Some day, some night the world will be swept safe
again, and clean again, when you wake. Safe and clean when you come back to us.
I pray.

(He seems to calm.

On the porch CONNIE startles awake.)

CONNIE
Uh. I wasn’t…

CLAIRE
Some day, some night…

CONNIE
Wow. Yes I was. I was sleeping.

CLAIRE
Safe and clean…

(CONNIE sees the HAWK.)

CONNIE
Ah. You.

CLAIRE
When you come back to us…

CONNIE
Look at you up there.
 8

CLAIRE
I pray…

CONNIE
Get away. Go on. Shoo. You make me dizzy with all that swooping around.

(Suddenly RAFA gets restless and urgent.)

RAFA
Jesus…
Fuck…
Get out…
Get out…
Carlos…
Get out…

(CLAIRE tries to calm him. HAWK and CONNIE

listen.)

CLAIRE
It’s all right, baby.
It’s all right.
I’m here.

(They struggle.)

RAFA
Get out!
Get out!
Get out!

(He hits her. She falls.

He stands. He shouts.

The shout pulls him from the dream. He looks around.

He sees nothing. He falls back onto the bed.

Lights fade.)
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Scene Two

(Later that night. In the bedroom RAFA, sleeps

restlessly. The HAWK sits perched at the window,
watching him.

CLAIRE bursts out onto the street. She has a backpack

and suitcase. She’s trying to leave.

RAFA is heard from the bed again. He’s talking. In

his sleep. His talk is urgent. His voice stops CLAIRE.)

RAFA
Not that…
Road…
Why is it…
That is not…
Why are you…
Dude, no…

(As if far in the distance, an explosion. RAFA turns

almost incomprehensible, his movements sharp and
violent. CLAIRE, on the curb, hears.)

RAFA
Jesus…
Fuck…
Get out…
Carlos…
Carlos…
Come on…

(The HAWK climbs into the room, approaches the bed.)

RAFA
Come on…
You can…
We’ve got to…
Fucking smoke…
Mano…
Mano…
Mano…
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(HAWK puts her foot on RAFA’S heart. He begins to

calm.)

RAFA
What the fuck…
Mano…
I don’t wanta lose you…
Mano…

(HAWK takes up RAFA’S voice…)

HAWK/RAFA
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…

(HAWK and RAFA breathe together. Crisis abates

somewhat.

On the street CONNIE speaks from her porch.)

CONNIE
Ay por dios, what the hell?

CLAIRE
What?

CONNIE
What the hell is that?

CLAIRE
Just move along. There’s nothing to see here.

CONNIE
Nothing to see? You think I can’t hear? You think the whole neighborhood…?

CLAIRE
Yeah? So?

CONNIE
So? Desgraciada.

CLAIRE
He’s fine. Just a little fever.
 11

CONNIE
Every night?

CLAIRE
He didn’t get his flu shot.

CONNIE
Don’t shit me, muchacha.

CLAIRE
Don’t fuck with me, vieja. Just go back inside. There’s nothing to see here.

(RAFA moves violently again. The HAWK sings.)

HAWK
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t…

(RAFA calms. We breathe out.)

CONNIE
Is he done?

CLAIRE
I hope so.

CONNIE
Bueno. Then maybe the rest of us can sleep.

CLAIRE
I’m sorry if he inconveniences you.

CONNIE
And what’re you doing? Are you going somewhere?

CLAIRE
Claro que si, mujer. Nowhere. Fast.

(CLAIRE exits back into the house. With her stuff.

Lights fade to black.)

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Scene Three

(Lights fade up on the porch. The hazy light of late

afternoon. CONNIE sits in an old chair, dozing,
dreaming.

The HAWK appears.

In her dream, CONNIE startles awake.)

CONNIE
I wasn’t sleeping.
I wasn’t. Just sat down to…
Are you there?

HAWK
I’m here.

CONNIE
Shit. Is it time?

HAWK
Always the same question.

CONNIE
So no?

HAWK
Are your bags packed?

CONNIE
No. Wait. My bags…?

HAWK
Ha. Just messing with you.

CONNIE
Not funny, cabrona.

HAWK
Gotta amuse myself, vieja. It gets lonely. Up there in the sky.
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CONNIE
Is that why you come down here? Why you come down to him? To me? Because
you’re lonely?

HAWK
No bars, no clubs, no parish halls, no rec centers, no quincineras for me.

CONNIE
Pobrecita.

HAWK
It’s a Hawk’s life.

CONNIE
So go do it. Back where you belong. Back…

HAWK
Riding high. Circling. Sensing. Rising and falling. The resistance of air under my
wings. The moon cold on my shoulders. The wind hot on my breast. My blood
singing loud con deseo.

CONNIE
Con deseo?

HAWK
I’m a Hawk, not an angel, baby.

CONNIE
I don’t think I want to know…

HAWK
Desire?

CONNIE
What you want…

HAWK
So it’s a relief. A release. When I sense it. When it washes over my wings, my
feathers, my lungs. When it’s time. When I know that I can go spiraling down. And
down, and down, and down. Until I land. With my talons on some creature’s heart.
Their fear filling my nostrils. The anticipation done and the action begun. The
holding, the lifting, and the spreading wide. For the journey.
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CONNIE
Ay.

HAWK
Claro. “Ay.” Kinda scary, no?

CONNIE
You’re such a…

HAWK
Go ahead. Catch your breath.

CONNIE
You bitch.

HAWK
See, vieja. You ain’t quite dead yet.

CONNIE
Are you here for him?

HAWK
I carry no answers.

CONNIE
No?

HAWK
Just burdens.

CONNIE
Are we heavy, mujer?

HAWK
He will be heavy. But you. You have grown light.

CONNIE
So. Then you’re here for… Is it time?

(HAWK laughs. Lights fade to black.)

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Scene Four

(Night. The bedroom. CLAIRE sitting by RAFA’s

bed. He sleeps.)

CLAIRE
Do you remember?
Do you?
Rafa?
There are things I need you to…
Remember.

Like when we were young and I would slip into your bed at night?
When my parents were sleeping?
When yours were passed out?
Do you remember?
How you would tape the Disneyland post card to your window?
How I would see and slip out of my house.
How I would run around the block?
How the dog next door would bark and bark?
How I would sneak into your back yard past the gate and the gas meter?
How I would slip into your open window?
How you would pretend to be asleep?
How I would drop my shoes and slip under the covers?
How we would kiss?

Do you remember?
How we would pull off each other’s clothes?
Under the covers?
Buttons?
Zippers?
Belts?
Sleeves?
Socks?
Panties?
Briefs?
Till we came to skin?
Till we came to touch?
Do you remember?
Always the same?
Sometimes so slowly?
Sometimes so wild?
Your shirt, my shirt?
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My hands caressing that strange softness of your chest?

Fingers touching your breath?
Your warm hands?
My back and shoulders?
My stomach?
My bra?
Your fingers?
My breath?
Our skin?
Our chests, our nipples, our sweat?
Pressed up against each other?
In that bed?
Feeling our hearts move together?
Feeling the world fall away?
In that bed?

Do you remember?
How they found us that night?
How they yelled and cursed?
So drunk?
How they threw me out of your house?
How you and your father fought?
How they grounded you?
How they forbade us?
The rules?
The watching?
The spying?
The shouting?
The separation?
The days?
The weeks?
The signals between windows?
The secret phone calls?
The notes left under stones?
In lockers?
On walls?

Do you remember?
How we wouldn’t give up?
How we found a way?
In the night?
In your car?
Parked around the corner?
Parked in the darkness of the elms that line the railroad tracks?
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Do you remember?
How we would find each other there?
How we would hold each other there?
In that front seat?
Stars, sirens, crows, dogs, stereo playing beats?
While we kissed?
And breathed?
Hands, eyes, fingers, lips?
Under the streetlights?
Under the moon?
Deep inside each other?
Deep inside la luna?
Las estrellas?
El viento?
El cancion?

Do you remember?
These are the things, Rafa.
These are the things I want you to remember, mi amor.
These are the things I need you to remember, my love.

(Silence. Lights fade to black.)

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Scene Five

(Lights rise on another dark night: lit only by a street

light, and the waxing moon.

In the bedroom RAFA and the HAWK.

CLAIRE enters to the street, with her backpack and

suitcase. She’s trying to leave again. But she can’t go.
She drops her stuff on the ground, then sits on the curb
and smokes. CONNIE watches from her seat on the
porch.

After a few moments RAFA begins to toss in his sleep.)

RAFA
Come on…
Come on, mano…
You can do it…
You can…
Please…
We’ve got to…
We’ve got to go, mano.
Mano…
Mano…
What the fuck…
What the fucking fuck…
Mano…

(He’s screaming now. HAWK puts her foot on

RAFA’S heart. He begins to calm.)

RAFA/HAWK
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…

HAWK
I don’t want to lose you.

(HAWK and RAFA breathe together. Crisis hangs in

the air.)
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CONNIE
Jesus Christ, every fucking night.

CLAIRE
Fuck off.

CONNIE
I see you’re leaving again.

CLAIRE
Yes, I am. Y que?

CONNIE
How have you stood up to it this long?

CLAIRE
How do you think? He’s my…

CONNIE
Your what?

CLAIRE
Shut up.

RAFA/HAWK
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…

HAWK
I don’t wanta lose you…

CONNIE
So you’ve really decided this time. To leave?

CLAIRE
What else can I do? I have to leave.

CONNIE
Of course you do. I see that bruise on your neck. That bandage on your elbow. The
make-up and the long sleeves don’t cover up the damage.

CLAIRE
You’re so fucking nosy. Chismosa!
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CONNIE
It’s a rule of life. Or it should be. You can’t stay with him if he hits you.

CLAIRE
I know that. I can’t stay. But I can’t leave either. I can’t sit with him, but I have to
sit with him. There’s no place in this house for me. No safe place. But what is safe?
What is safe for him? What is safe for me?

HAWK
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…
I don’t wanta lose you…

CONNIE
Don’t be a dumbass, girl.

CLAIRE
What if dumbass is the only way? What if there is no sensible? What if there’s no
Plan B?

CONNIE
He’s gonna climbs out of bed one night and mistake you for the enemy.

CLAIRE
Yeah. So I leave. And then one night I climb out of bed in some shitty motel and I
know it was a big fucking mistake. Then I really am the enemy.

CONNIE
Too bad. You can’t make up for all the things that are wrong.

CLAIRE
What do you know about it?

CONNIE
I know plenty.

CLAIRE
Well keep it to yourself. Just crawl back into your little old school cocoon and leave
me the fuck alone.

CONNIE
Esta bien. Suit yourself.
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CLAIRE
Jesus. Viejas like you make me puke. What do you know about what we been
through? About what he’s been through? What do you know about Iraq, or Afghan?
What do you know about war? You sit here in your safe little neighborhood drinking
tea with all your little barrio compas, talking chisme and who’s got the best illegals
mowing their lawns and cleaning their floors.

CONNIE
It’s tequila, not tea, pendeja.

CLAIRE
Meanwhile kids like him and me are out protecting your sorry bitch asses from the
evil doers in the world, and for what? Home of the free? Ain’t nothing free anymore.
Not school, not medicine, not homes, not jobs, not phones, not even fucking being
free. You got it all and you’re hanging onto it with your fucking middle class, baby
boomer, calavera death grip.

(In the bed RAFA moves again.)

RAFA
Tu sangre, mano…

HAWK
Tu sangre…

RAFA
It’s fucking everywhere…

HAWK
Everywhere…

RAFA
Medic…

HAWK
Medic…
Medic…
Medic…

CLAIRE
Medic. Fuck. I’ll take one of those.

CONNIE
Jesus. You two are psycho.
 22

CLAIRE
What?

CONNIE
Psycho. Loco. Him and you both, verdad?

CLAIRE
Well what do you expect? Shrapnel in your back and legs, dreams in the night,
friends bleeding on your chest, dripping chunks of their brains into your lap…

(In the bed RAFA moves again. The HAWK talks for
him.)

RAFA
Tu sangre, mano…

HAWK
Tu sangre…

RAFA
You gotta hang onto it, mano…

HAWK
You gotta hang onto your blood…

RAFA
You can’t keep dropping it everywhere…

HAWK
You can’t keep dropping it…

RAFA/HAWK
Medic!
Medic!
Medic, god damn it!

(RAFA looks to HAWK.)

RAFA
Medic? Are you the medic? Are you the medic?

HAWK
Yes, soldier. Yes. I’m the medic. I’ll take it from here.
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RAFA
Medic…
Medic…
Medic…

(RAFA calms. Silence.)

CLAIRE
Oh God.

CONNIE
Claro.

(Silence.)

CLAIRE
I think he might be done. For tonight.

CONNIE
Okay. You want anything? A drink?

CLAIRE
What?

CONNIE
I’m not supposed to. Diabetes. Whiskey goes in, blood pressure goes up. But what
the hell.

CLAIRE
No. No thanks. I should go back in.

CONNIE
So you’re not leaving?

CLAIRE
I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. You want a smoke?

CONNIE
Are you kidding? No. Those things are gonna kill you.

CLAIRE
I should be so lucky.
 24

(Silence. CLAIRE smokes.)

CLAIRE
Look, I’m sorry about…

CONNIE
No no, you’re right. It’s none of my…

CLAIRE
I know it must be hard to hear him. Every night. Hard on the sleep anyway.

CONNIE
I’m awake every night.

CLAIRE
He can’t help it.

CONNIE
No. I mean I’m awake every night. Anyway. I haven’t slept through the night in
years. I sit at the window, I walk through the house, I come out here. I say the
rosary. I breathe the air. I see the stars. I watch. Sometimes I feel like I’m always
watching. Like nothing can escape my watching. Not even in those moments when I
doze off. Forgetfully drifting. Preview of coming attractions. Harbinger of doom.
Always watching.

CLAIRE
Watching for what?

CONNIE
But he never came home.

CLAIRE
Who? Who never came home?

CONNIE
What? No one. Buenas noches.

(CONNIE exits into the house.

Lights fade to black.)

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Scene Six

(Another dark night. CLAIRE sleeps in the bed.

CONNIE sleeps on the porch. HAWK circles in the
sky, watching.

RAFA enters on the street. He walks the night. He

carries a notebook. He scatters its pages through the
neighborhood as he walks. On CONNIE’S backyard.
On the street. In his own house. In his own bedroom.

Until he stands over CLAIRE, watching her sleep as he

scatters the last pages.)

RAFA
Claire.
Oh my God, Claire, I remember you.
I do.
My fingers remember.
My fingers remember the skin.
The skin of your back.
Your shoulders.
Your throat.
The pulse of your heart.
Your heart under my hand.
Beating.
In the night.
The dark night.
The hot night.

I remember you.
Naked.
Wet.
Sweating.
Squirming.
Singing.
On top of me.
Under me.
Breath heaving.
Heart on heart.
Pulse pulse pulse.
Pulse.
Pulse.
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I remembered that pulse.

God, how I remembered.
That pulse.
My pulse.
Our pulse.
I remembered.
When I saw his blood.
When I saw his pieces.
Jagged red mess of him in the sand.
Pump.
Pump.
Pump.
Pulse.
Spurt.
Spill.

I remembered.
That pulse.
As I called him.
Mano!
Mano!
Mano!

I remembered.
I remembered you.
Then.
There.
With every fiber of my being.
I remembered.
Your pulse.
Your blood.
Your heart beating.
They were all.
All I had.

(Lights fade to black.)

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Scene Seven

(Later that night. RAFA is gone. CLAIRE in her bed,

CONNIE in her chair.

The HAWK cries out.

CLAIRE wakes up. See’s RAFA is gone.)

CLAIRE
Rafa?
Rafa?

(She finds a page, picks it up, reads. Then another.

And another…)

CLAIRE
“The night is dark
then darker still,
The smoke is thick
and the air is ill,
The ground opens
and the falling begins
I drive with him,
I die that night,
I die each night,
I die with him.”

Rafa?
Mi amor?
Where are you?

HAWK
“Falling,
spinning,
tumbling.
Sinkhole
and shallow grave,
pulsing with
his blood
and brave.”

(CLAIRE walk. Picks up more pages.)

 28

CLAIRE
“Sea of wind,
sand whip,
knife cold,
stranger desert,
memory of soldier,
and his parts,
all flying.”

(On the porch, CONNIE wakes, picks up a page.)

CONNIE
“Voices lie,
threat uncertain,
blood that binds,
bomb that tears,
hidden pipe,
blood and scream,
limbs that fly,
and fly.”

HAWK
“Falling,
spinning,
tumbling.
Sinkhole
and shallow grave,
pulsing with
his blood
and brave.”

CONNIE
“The heart goes dark,
and darker still,
weapons unleashed,
madness fill,
bullets lash,
targets shout,
blood leaps,
random strangers fall.”

(CLAIRE comes to the street, and picks up one last

page.)
 29

CLAIRE
“Night goes dark,
and darker still.
Smoke is thick
and thicker still.
Ground opens
falling begins,
I dive with him,
I die with him.
I dive with him,
I die with him.”

HAWK
“Falling,
spinning,
tumbling.
Sinkhole
and shallow grave,
pulsing with
his blood
and brave.”

CONNIE
“The heart goes dark
and darker still.”

CLAIRE
Rafa?
Rafa?

(Lights fade to black.)

 30

Scene Eight

(Later that night. Pages still scattered. HAWK is

circling in the sky. CONNIE sits on the porch -
waiting.

Gunshots are heard, far away, as if in a dream.

CLAIRE’S voice can be heard in the distance.)

CLAIRE (offstage)
Rafa? Rafa?

(More gunshots.)

CLAIRE (offstage)
Rafa? Oh my God, baby, what’re you doing? Rafa?

(RAFA enters, armed and dressed for combat. He

moves stealthily across the stage until he approaches
the porch. He senses CONNIE’S presence. He
hesitates, then springs low, weapon trained on her.)

RAFA
Who goes there?

CONNIE
Go ahead. You’ll be doing me a favor.

RAFA
Drop your weapons.

CONNIE
Got nothing here but my feminine wiles.

RAFA
Hands behind your head.

(She complies. He doesn’t shoot. He does a quick

frisk, then moves back under cover.)

CONNIE
Ay, watcha. I’m too old for you, muchacho.
 31

RAFA
Where are they?

CONNIE
What?

RAFA
Donde estan?

CLAIRE (offstage)
Rafa? Mi amor?

CONNIE
She’s there.

RAFA
It’s like I can see. And hear. Into the shadows. Night vision without the equipment.
Flare without the blinding light. Footsteps fall - down the street, around the corner.

CONNIE
And what is it? Who is it?

RAFA
They’re coming. There’s a whole squad of them. Three or four are approaching on
the rooftops. From the southeast. The others are in the shadows down the street.

CONNIE
But who are they?

RAFA
Does it matter? When they find you and you’re dead will it matter?

CONNIE
Yes.

RAFA
Civilian. Go back to sleep.

CONNIE
But what if there’s no one? What if it’s her?

RAFA
I see them. Isn’t that enough?
 32

CONNIE
All right, you see them.

RAFA
Two behind that hedge on Rivera’s front lawn. One hanging behind Kwok’s pick-up.
They’re all moving from shadow to shadow, tree to tree. Wall to bush to fence to
yard to wall. Across the roofs. Look. There. You can just see the gun barrels
glinting on the Garcia’s roof.

(He takes aim.)

RAFA
As soon as they move they’re dead.

CONNIE
They’re not going to move, vato. Those are drain pipes.

RAFA
Keep quiet.

CONNIE
There’s no one coming.

RAFA
You’ll give our position away.

CONNIE
There’s no one moving through the shadows. You’re hearing the wind, the leaves,
the trees, the tv’s, the wind chimes.

RAFA
I’m not gonna let them take me.

CLAIRE (offstage)
Rafa? Rafa?

RAFA
I’m not gonna let them…

CONNIE
And the voice of your lover. Tu amante. Looking for you.

RAFA
I’m not.
 33

CONNIE
You’re not in the desert, you’re in the suburbs.

(Silence.)

CONNIE
Do you hear me?

(Silence.)

CONNIE
Do you?

(He stands down.)

RAFA
They’re moving away.

CONNIE
They were never there.

RAFA
Our vigilance. They weren’t prepared for that.

CONNIE
I’m sorry.

RAFA
We’ll wait a few minutes. To be sure.

CONNIE
I’m sorry you have to go through this.

RAFA
Don’t be. This is so much better. To hold my weapon, to move on the street, to smell
them, to taste their fear on the wind. So much better. Than being trapped. Trapped
in the armored vehicle with shitty armor. A moving target, a canned fish with the
hook already down deep in the gut. Till the fire bursts. And then the smoke. And
then the blood.

CLAIRE (offstage)
Rafa? Rafa, por favor? Donde estas?
 34

CONNIE
She’s still searching.

RAFA
You’re the only one who understands.

CONNIE
What? No.

RAFA
That’s why I’m here. Gotta know where your support is. Who’s gonna watch your
back.

CONNIE
Not me, vato.

RAFA
You know. I can tell. You weren’t in the field, but I can tell. It’s in you.
The eyes in the dark.
The call of the guards.
The footsteps.
The rustle of clothes.
The hot breath.
The weapons.
It speaks to you too, doesn’t it?

CONNIE
You fucker. Yes. It does.

RAFA
Here in the middle of all these sheep you’re awake. Awake to the danger.

CONNIE
Yes.

RAFA
But you haven’t been in the field.

CONNIE
No. Only in the field of memories. And nightmares.

(HAWK arrives.)
 35

RAFA
You’re here. At last.

HAWK
Claro, vato. I’m here.

(Lights fade to black.)

 36

Scene Nine

(Later that night. RAFA and HAWK flying.

CONNIE sits on the porch.)

RAFA
It all looks so small -
like a little checkerboard
with no kings,
a Disney ride
over dismal streets.

HAWK
There’s your house.

RAFA
My yard, my hood.

HAWK
The elms you used to park under.

RAFA
Those nights.

HAWK
There are the tracks you used to run on.

RAFA
Run and run and run. Trying to catch the trains.

HAWK
Trying to get them to carry you away.

RAFA
To escape. My parents alcohol. The local macho boys big mouths. The neighbors
with their prying eyes.

HAWK
There’s the playground, and the school.

RAFA
The only place where I was cool. I could swing the bat, kick the ball, do the math,
recite the facts. Go home and get cursed at.
 37

HAWK
There’s the gas station, the KFC, the taco place, the strip mall.

RAFA
Drug store, beauty parlor, tattoo man, junk emporium, homeless guys sleeping by the
dumpsters. Recruiting office.

HAWK
Tio Sam wanted you, vato!

RAFA
Army, attention, manhood, machismo.
Pride of uniform, promise of travel, dinero for school.
Weapons, comrades, training, adventure.

HAWK
Weapons, comrades, training, adventure…

RAFA
Wait. Wait, it’s all changing. What the fuck?

HAWK
We’re flying faster.

RAFA
It’s getting cold.

HAWK
That’s just the wind.

RAFA
Adonde vamos?

HAWK
To the past. To let it pass before your eyes. Like in the movies.

RAFA
What? No.

HAWK
To revive. To relive. To resist. To rekindle.
 38

RAFA
No gracias! Put me down, mujer!

HAWK
No can do, vato. This viaje ain’t got no rest stops.

RAFA
Put me down!

HAWK
But you can sleep.

(RAFA falls asleep. They keep on flying.

CLAIRE enters to the porch.)

CLAIRE
The shell casings lead here.

CONNIE
They don’t lie.

CLAIRE
When? Why? Which way did he go?

CONNIE
So many questions.

CLAIRE
Which way?

CONNIE
He hitched a ride. West. About seven minutes ago.

CLAIRE
Only seven?

CONNIE
But he’s long gone.

CLAIRE
Which way?
 39

CONNIE
If you wait, he might come back around.

CLAIRE
To here?

CONNIE
Claro.

CLAIRE
Why here?

CONNIE
He found something.

CLAIRE
What? You?

CONNIE
A shout. A curse. A dark he could understand.

CLAIRE
Earth to vieja.

CONNIE
Do you know the story of his dream?

CLAIRE
Only the shouted parts. The jagged pieces.

CONNIE
I know those parts too. The whole neighborhood does.

CLAIRE
He couldn’t tell me. He couldn’t go back there.

CONNIE
I’ve been there. In another time. Another place. With another baby boy. That’s why
he ended up here.

CLAIRE
He could tell that?
 40

CONNIE
Yours came home from the desert, mine came home from the jungle. But he had the
same dreams. The same walls. The same trembling fury. The same scream. And I
had the same bruises. And the same unhappy neighbors.

CLAIRE
Did you leave him?

CONNIE
He left me. I followed. Till I found him. In his dream.

(HAWK and RAFA land in the dream. A dirt road in

the desert. HAWK plays CARLOS.)

RAFA
Jesus, it’s hot.

HAWK/CARLOS
Desert, yeah.

RAFA
Where are we, mano?

HAWK/CARLOS
Just go where they send us, pendejo.

RAFA
Oh shit.
Not that way driver.
Road is not secure.
Why would they send us this way?
That is not right.
Why are you…?
Dude, no…

(As in a dream, an explosion. Their vehicle is blown.)

RAFA
Shit.

HAWK/CARLOS
Fuck.
 41

RAFA
Jesus, door’s blown.

HAWK/CARLOS
I’m taking fire here.

(RAFA and HAWK/CARLOS dive for cover.

CONNIE tells her story. His story.)

CONNIE
This is how he told it to me:
It was a patrol.
At dawn.
Through the jungle because Charlie owned the roads.
Sarge was suspicious because the orders came from far.
HQ in Da Nang.
What the fuck?
“Keep your fucking heads down,” he said.
Skirting the river.
Then up a rise.
Out of the trees.
Then…

(As in a dream, gunfire.)

RAFA
Jesus.
Fuck.
Get out.
Carlos, we got to…
Carlos.
Come on.

(HAWK lies still. Dead weight.)

RAFA
Come on.
You can make it.
We gotta go.
Fucking smoke.
Mano?
Mano?
Mano?
 42

CONNIE
I hit the weeds.
My man Carlos right next to me.
“Hate this fucking shit,” he said.
Grinning.
Then he shuddered.
And blood flew.
“Chinga tu madre!”
And he grabbed at me.

(HAWK/CARLOS grabs at RAFA.)

HAWK/CARLOS
Fucking shit, Rafa.

RAFA
What the fuck?
Mano?
I don’t wanta lose you.
Mano?

HAWK/CARLOS
I’m taking fire.

RAFA
Jesus!
Man down.
Fucking shit!
Get us out of here.
Get us out…

CONNIE
He grabbed my arm.
He pulled at me.
His eyes.
Blood in his mouth.
He laughed.
Sarge was shouting.
“Fire! Fire!”
There were shadows flitting through the reeds.
“Fire! Fire!”
But I couldn’t get free.
His hands.
 43

His eyes.
I fought him.
I fought him.
I fought him…

RAFA
Carlos!
Carlos!
Come on, mano!
Come on!

You can make it, mano.

You can make it.
We got to…
We got to get out of here.
Fucking smoke I can’t fucking see.

HAWK/CARLOS
Mano?
Mano?
(HAWK/CARLOS dies.)

CONNIE
I fought him.
I fought my best buddy.
And then he died.

RAFA
What the fuck?
Mano?
Mano?
I don’t wanta lose you.
Carlos?

CONNIE
I fought him.
And then he died.
He died.

And then finally.

Finally I pulled free.
I started firing.
I started blasting.
Screaming.
 44

I jumped up.
I ran through the reeds and the mud.
Stepping over the bodies of my buddies.
And blasting.
Blasting.
Blasting.
Till Sarge tackled me.

RAFA
I don’t wanta lose you.
I don’t wanta lose you.
I don’t wanta lose you.
Mano?

CONNIE
And we lay there in the hot wet.
Gunfire gone.
Moaning of the wounded.
Birds squawking in the jungle.
Wind in the trees.
Dawn.
Blood.
Death.
Bad dream.
Oh God, make it all a bad dream.

(Lights fade to black.)

 45

Scene Ten

(Later that night. CLAIRE sleeping in her bed.

CONNIE sitting on her porch. HAWK in the sky.

GHOST OF RAFA stands at the foot of the bed.)

HAWK
I sing the night -
the dark
the wind
the stars
the distant fire.
I circle between earth and sky,
dirt, street, house, and tree,
beneath the cold infinity.

(CLAIRE cries out in her sleep.)

CLAIRE
Hawk? Hawk?
I see you there…

HAWK
Circling for the heat I sense,
the pounding of the sangre,
the sweat of the distress.
Circling for the call
that echoes in the silence.

CLAIRE
Where did you…?
Hawk?
Where did you take my man?

HAWK
Somewhere from the thicket of bedrooms,
from asphalt, fences, and broken suenos -
the blood
the heat,
the dream,
the burning out
of breathing…
 46

(Suddenly CLAIRE wakes.)

CLAIRE
Oh my God. What the hell?
Rafa?

RAFA
It’s okay, mi vida.
It’s okay.

CLAIRE
Rafa?

RAFA
Calmate. Calmate.
It’s only a dream.
Only an illusion.
Only a mirage in the distant past –
sand, land mines, and IED’s.

Bed, sweat, love and scream.

CLAIRE
Wait. What? Haven’t you come back to me?

RAFA
It’s okay, mi vida.
It’s okay.

CLAIRE
What are you…? Why did you leave? Where did you go?

RAFA
Hawk came for me.

CLAIRE
Hawk?

RAFA
Took me flying.

CLAIRE
Where?
 47

RAFA
The past. The firestorm in my memory.

CLAIRE
Carlos?

RAFA
Claro.

CLAIRE
In your arms.

RAFA
His blood.

CLAIRE
Mano.

RAFA
His blood pulsing. Down into the dirt. A river running. A million streams of
violence and disease. Down into the sea.

CLAIRE
So this is just a dream?

RAFA
The sea of souls where we all must meet.

CLAIRE
You’re leaving me?

RAFA
Not leaving. I was taken from you.

CLAIRE
Hawk! Hawk, you bitch!

RAFA
Taken from you long ago.

CLAIRE
Why are you doing this to me?
 48

RAFA
“The urge in my talons,
the blood in my beak.
El impulso en mi espada,
la sangre en mi nariz.”

CLAIRE
Why is she doing this to us.

RAFA
Because you asked her to.

CLAIRE
No.

RAFA
Don’t you remember what you said?

“Should I call the hawk down, mi vida?

Should I call her down?
With her sharp claws
maybe she can cut away your pain.
With the blade in her soul
maybe she can slice
through your nightmares
and your memories.
Maybe with her sharp edges
she can cut away your wounds.”

CLAIRE
I was desperate.

RAFA
You were devoted. And her sharp edges did cut me down.

CLAIRE
She killed you.

RAFA
No. I did that.
Now sleep, mi vida.

(He lays her down on the bed.)

 49

RAFA
Now sleep.
And when you wake remember me.
The blood of my nightmare,
the love that gave me wings.
La sangre de mi pesadilla,
el amor que me dio alas.

Because I remembered. Before I took up my weapon one last time, I left a message
in my notebook for you.

(RAFA goes.

Suddenly CLAIRE wakes.)

CLAIRE
Oh my God. What the hell?
Rafa? Rafa?

(She gets up and looks around, but he is gone. Then

she remembers, and goes to his notebook. She opens it
an looks through it.

HAWK lands at the porch.)

CONNIE
Pues, look who’s here.

HAWK
It’s been a long night.

CONNIE
Pobrecita. So, is it time?

HAWK
Get over yourself, vieja. How about you give me some of that tea.

(He sits down next to her.

In the bedroom, CLAIRE finds the message, and

reads.)
 50

CLAIRE
“Do I remember?
Claro, mi vida, I do.
How we would find each other there.
How we would hold each other there.
In that front seat.
Stars, sirens, crows, dogs, stereo playing beats.
While we kissed.
And breathed.
Hands, eyes, fingers, lips.
Under the streetlights.
Under the moon.
Deep inside each other.
Deep inside la luna.
Las estrellas.
El viento.
El cancion.
Deep inside the moon.
The stars.
The wind.
The song.
Yes.
Yes, I remember.”

(CLAIRE closes the notebook.

HAWK and CONNIE drink tea.

LA LUNA rides through the sky.

Curtain.)