The Bee & the Butterfly - Scene 2 of 7

Scene 2: Near the Ruins, Before Dawn

Enter Sybil Mantis; She Blesses the Sleeping Daffodils

 

SYBIL MANTIS

 

Oh, Doyenne, Mother Rose,

Look to your needy daffodils

And take their weakling part �"

 

And comfort those you can.

 

Their fear is not for love alone,

But for the world at large,

Of which love is a part.

 

Exit Sybil Mantis; Enter Myrina; The Daffodils

Awake and Listen Unnoticed from Their Beds.

 

MYRINA:

 

I see again his countenance before me;

And his eyes are like rich lakes of midnight �"

 

That conceal astounding depth.

 

It causes me to think in better ways about this bee.

 

He came to me so broken on the twilight breeze,

And yet he showed like some undaunted prince

Who stands alone against a reckless mob.

 

A small and touching thing,

And yet so proud and true,

He courted me and won

My love that evening �"

 

 

Not by love's common charms,

But by the faith, he has in them.

 

Oh, too often does a passing mood

Beget a lasting consequence!

 

And that is ever true when lovers are at odds,

As they can say nothing that the other

Does not take to heart. (Sighs)

 

Each is like an oracle who

Whispers pleasant prophecies,

 

But if a certain word is wrongly said,

Its voice resounds like Adad’s thunder;

And lightning splits two hearts at once,

Without the lovers having time to think.

 

But I must fly from here, for I regret

The message I have sent

 

And must retrieve it

Before my Andre acts upon it.

 

Exit Myrina; The Daffodils Arise; Petal Leans

Toward the Sun While Chloe Gracefully Twirls.

 

PETAL:

 

Oh, my God! What a freak-out!

Myrina’s right to worry about the crazy way

Andre might react to the “correction” she sent him.

 He can get so dramatic that you don't know what he'll do.

 

So, cut out the twirling, Chloe! This is no time for twirling!

 

 

CHLOE: (Continuing to Twirl)

 

And what’s worse,

Myrina doesn't fly that well �"

 

PETAL: (Staring at Chloe Disapprovingly)

 

No, not at all -

 

 Because her wings are a little asymmetrical

And actually, more decorative than functional.

 

CHLOE:

 

She's always veering off course

And has to stop all the time

Just to get back on track.

It can take forever!

 

PETAL:

 

But the Gardener seems to have a stake in this,

So maybe everything will start to rock.

 

CHLOE:

 

Could be.

 

PETAL: (Beginning to Sway)

 

Because even though Myrina

Was pretty upset with Andre,

 

He was the thing she was thinking about

At the end of her awesome lecture

About flukes extraordinaire.

 

Still, a creature's love

And even the faith it inspires

Can’t change the rules of the Garden.

 

Only what the rose calls the “First Love” can do that.

So, the outcome seems to be pretty much up in the air.

 

(Petal Begins to Twirl Along with Chloe.)

 

But all this excitement is making me dizzy

And a little anxious about the poet’s intentions.

 

I wish the rose was here, even though

I’m glad to have others reading along

And probably caring what happens.

 

(Daffodils Stop Twirling and Lean Toward the Sun.)

Author's Note

This piece is a part of my revised work, previously posted at WritersCafe.org. It is from a book in which some of the entries are written in prose or poetic prose.