Poetic Drama Prison Play
In the dimly lit dungeon of a Parisian prison, August of 1794, Edith lay upon a bed of straw, her eyes swollen, her gaze vacant.
Enter Raphael.
Edith (rising): Raphael? How did you find yourself here?
Raphael: Naturally, I have come to be reunited with you, my angel.
Edith: Alas, why must you torment me with your visage fair?
Your handsome face, a diamond gaze, a golden halo in your hair.
To behold your countenance, it stirs painful memories deep,
Whilst he lies in the cold earth, his soul forever in eternal sleep.
Why are you adorned so splendidly while he is laid to rest,
In the mire and filth, his body dispossessed?
Raphael: Cease your words, love, relentless reminders of your heartless ways,
For as you can see, roles reversed, the world's order in disarray.
The tyrant who oppressed others' liberty, now fallen in his own cage,
Whilst I, too, languish in this prison, trapped in a darker age.
Edith (with disbelief in her eyes): You conspired with those murderers in Thermidor!
Raphael: I, in fact, saved him from the guillotine's blade, my angel. You ought to be grateful to me.
Edith: Why do I fail to comprehend the meaning behind your words?
Raphael (gesturing to the side): Bring him up.
A gaoler brings the injured Andre into the cell and roughly throws him inside.
Edith (joyfully, rushing to embrace him): Andre! You are still alive!
Exit gaoler.
Raphael: I sold myself to them in order to bring your little lover back.
Andre: Oh, my beloved, in this moment I endure such shame!
No different from death's cold grasp, they tarnish my name!
Before the eyes of my sweetheart, I stand almost bare,
Controlled by my hateful rival, a heart filled with despair!
Edith (kissing him): At least I can kiss you once again.
Raphael: Your words once again shred my heart! Yet, I remain magnanimous; what is there that I cannot tolerate from you? Embrace him, revel in the joy of reunion, but do not forget the man standing here, whose heart also holds unrequited love!
Andre: Love renders me feeble, dearest Edith! Shall we then rejoice, for fate did not forever our souls tear? Kiss me once more, for I am alive! I am still alive, I swear!
Raphael: It is enough. I believe the joy of reunion has settled. Now it is time for the savior, to receive the reward he deserves. (Enters the prison cell)
Andre (alert): What are you planning, Saint-Clemont?
Raphael: Your future destiny, within my hands it lies,
Endured I have for far too long, love's fire in me cries.
Come, Edith, let me possess you, or let me be possessed—according to your heart's desire.
Edith (stares at Raphael): You can't even dream of it! I would rather die alongside Andre for liberty!
Raphael (pins her down on the ground): Oh, goddess, why should I desire your life? I don't even hope to possess your heart—only a moment of solace, only your flesh!
Andre (furious): Let go of her! Saint-Clemont! You shameless villain! Shameless!
Raphael (pushes Andre onto the straw forcefully): You are no longer the authoritative big shot in the Committee of General Security, Citizen Quenet!
Edith (struggling intensely): Away, Raphael! Release your grip, demon vile!
Raphael: It seems I must bind your frame with might,
Reluctantly, I act, for your fair skin I smite.
Coarse ropes shall brand your tender arms so fair,
My heart, torn with pain, yet desire they flare.
Edith: I shall not yield, even if you bind me tight!
I pledge myself solely to virtue's pure light.
I cannot tolerate filthy tools of evil men,
My honour is too dear to let such vice begin!
Raphael: But your petals, under my touch, revealed,
Honest dew cascades, desires unconcealed!
Your blossoming bud, eagerly it waits,
For my lance's thrust, its longing abates!
Edith: Ah! You, lascivious rogue and devilish beast!
Such treacherous betrayal, an unholy feast!
Beneath saintly facade, one an apostle stands,
The other, a criminal, with vile hands!
Raphael: Call to me, caged beauty, in every plea!
Your passion, awakened, unleashed by me.
Thus, your insults, meant to scorn and deride,
In my ears, they transform, love's sweetest guide!
Andre: My beloved, I stand, helpless in despair,
To witness your torment, this savage affair!
Each piercing of his sword, sinister and cruel,
Shreds my heart, aching, a shattered jewel!
Edith: Forgive me, my dearest, in this woeful plight,
How wretched, the darkness that engulfs our light!
Raphael (acting incessantly, pointing at Andre): But your Andre seems quite excited, dear Edith. Look at what lies beneath!
Edith (crying out): Andre! Andre!
Raphael: Shouting his name while beneath me, my dear, only fuels my frenzy!
Shiver beneath me, Lady Liberty!
Clamp your thighs tightly around my waist,
As I thrust with passion, making you moan and writhe!
Andre: Forgive me, my Edith!
I seem unable to rein my mortal frame!
Why must this dying vessel succumb to lust, despite its feeble breath?
Why does the direst of scenes rouse this ignoble rise?
Raphael: My love, do not push me away!
My rival, cease your escape today!
No virtue stands incorruptible, you see,
We all are weak and small, decree!
Come, seeking but a fleeting ecstasy!
(lifting Edith and moving toward Andre)
Andre (struggling desperately, shaking his head): No, I will never! You madman...
Raphael: Your body betrays your heart. Unite with her before me, and fulfill the yearnings deep within your soul!
Edith: Andre, do not submit to this debauched fiend! Saint-Clemont, you can rely on nothing but allure!
(Raphael tightens the hemp rope binding Andre's arms, placing Edith on his lap.)
Edith: Ah! This was my countless yearning in a dream!
Let Andre bury his nose in my bosom, sweet and deep,
Once again straddle his sturdy fleshly lance,
Yet why is our lovemaking always filled with despair's dance?
When will we finally embrace on a bed, intimate and serene?
Raphael (laughing): There's no harm in a threesome's embrace,
Raphael Saint-Clemont delights in your wild chase!
I enjoy watching your passionate play,
As the three of us frolic in disarray!
Andre: Shame and guilt shudder within my frame,
Yet waves of heat from my loins, they claim!
I struggle to control my swaying hips' urge,
Reduced to a slave of carnal desires, a dirge!
Edith: I forgive you, my lover, for I too burn,
My body ablaze, yearning for you to discern!
To gallop wild upon your heated form,
In our frenzy, passion's raging storm!
Raphael: Allow me to add fuel to this lovers' blaze.
(Taking down the candle illuminating the prison door)
Dearest Andre, feel the scorching wax's craze!
Andre: Ah! The heat and pain, unbearable to bear!
Edith: Cease, Raphael! Is our torment not enough to share?!
Raphael: My love, do you feel his weapon within,
Stiffening, throbbing, a testament to sin?
Look upon your pitiful lover's plight,
Unable to touch himself, gasping in delight!
Edith: Virtue and ethics I have cast aside,
Shedding maiden's shame, no longer to hide.
With my warm and moist paradise, I'll console,
And also satisfy my own carnal role!
Andre: I feel like a steed, driven without respite,
Breathless from ceaseless journeys, day and night!
Ride me, Edith, only you can rescue me,
No other choice remains, but to please him, vile and free!
Raphael: He sways and moans, approaching his peak,
But naturally, I won't let him reach what he seeks.
(Lifting Edith in his arms)
This night, so lengthy, I'll make Quenet wander,
'Twixt heaven and hell, his spirit shall meander!
Andre (twisting his body): Ah! Forgive me, I plea!
This interruption, how cruel it must be!
Almost selling my soul for that fleeting pleasure,
Mercy be upon me, a moment of leisure!
Raphael (lifting the iron chains from the corner and suspending Edith): Let icy fetters wrap around your arms, my love. Lady Liberty, now my slave, behold!
Edith: I'd rather face death's embrace with Andre in tow! What have I done wrong, to become an aristocrat's plaything below?
Raphael: But open your lovely eyes, my angel divine,
Behold, a mightier arrow, a phallus of grand design!
Andre: I've sinned with debauchery and lost my way. The torment of my love lured me astray!
Raphael: Learn how to tame liberty, haughty little leader!
Edith: Oh! I'm already trapped within these prison walls,
Why can't I even control my own flesh, as it falls?
Am I destined to surrender to the bloodline's sin,
At the mercy of lascivious Raphael's whims, within?
Andre: Andre, have you lost your strength of self-restraint?
Will you succumb to the aristocrat's enslavement?
Raphael: Kiss me again, untamed angel of grace!
I feel your core quiver with ecstatic embrace,
Intoxicated with greedy desire, it envelopes me tight!
You love me, Edith, you love me, with all your might!
Edith: No, I may succumb to carnal temptation's snare, but never shall I love a demon with such a wicked stare!
Andre: I beg you, Raphael, have mercy!
Raphael: Listen, your lover pleads, his desire in need. Though unspoken, we know his craving, indeed.
(Raphael took out a leather whip, dipped in the juices from Edith's secret garden, then lashed Andre's abdomen with a wet slap)
Andre: Ah! How can a man bear such humiliation, and still alive? Yet I remain conscious, forced to witness my manhood grow stronger, under the enemy's lash.
Raphael: It follows instinct's call, devoid of reason's guide!
Edith: Why release me from the swinging iron chain,
Only to bind my limbs, restrict and constrain?
How many more wicked tricks do you hold,
To devour our sanity, with desires untold?
Raphael: I'd relish seeing the icy leader kneel,
Tongue exploring your fragrant cave with zeal.
Andre: I've lost all honour, a soul stripped bare.
The vanquished must endure the victor's scorn, unfair!
Let me crawl beneath your skirts, Edith,
Imbibing your aromatic nectar, tasting your divine bliss.
Edith: My soul feels lost in a muddled haze.
Could this all be but a nightmarish phase?
But how did my dreams descend to such decay,
where noble virtue withers and betray?
Raphael: A dream of blooming spring, dearest Edith. Let every nerve of yours my touch pervade. Surrender to sensations, wild and free, as my fingers explore your being, endlessly.
Andre (mumbling): My loins throb with a torturous desire. It yearns for more, a blaze that won't expire.
Raphael (raising the short whip and lashing Edith's buttocks): It seems mere fleshly torment won't appease our lofty leader.
Edith: Raphael! You beast! Marquis de Sade's disciple!
Raphael: To live up to that title, I shall strive, employing all means to pleasure and deprive. Now, sit atop him, my nymph, sublime, my wanton goddess, my captive divine.
Andre: In fiery suction at last, I tremble and quiver,
From her sweet fountain, a stream does deliver.
Ah, my beloved, shower me with your nectar pure,
Let your lucid lewdness upon my body obscure.
Raphael (breathing heavily): Such beauty unfolds, angels once chaste, now in my presence, debauchery embraced! I, too, can no longer resist the swell, longing for release, an ecstatic spell!
Edith: Ah, what is this? A sudden intoxication, an enchanting illusion, soul's elation? I feel my lover clutching me tight, warm, viscous droplets upon my back alight. And I ascend to an uncharted height!
Andre: The pleasure of sin has left me dazed, lying on the ground, thoughts erased, desires razed.
Raphael: Lady Liberty, you've set my heart astir, with joys bestowed, near breathless I confer. Just the thought brings solace, a rapturous thrill, of days to come, infinite and fulfilled!
(The End)
Enter Raphael.
Edith (rising): Raphael? How did you find yourself here?
Raphael: Naturally, I have come to be reunited with you, my angel.
Edith: Alas, why must you torment me with your visage fair?
Your handsome face, a diamond gaze, a golden halo in your hair.
To behold your countenance, it stirs painful memories deep,
Whilst he lies in the cold earth, his soul forever in eternal sleep.
Why are you adorned so splendidly while he is laid to rest,
In the mire and filth, his body dispossessed?
Raphael: Cease your words, love, relentless reminders of your heartless ways,
For as you can see, roles reversed, the world's order in disarray.
The tyrant who oppressed others' liberty, now fallen in his own cage,
Whilst I, too, languish in this prison, trapped in a darker age.
Edith (with disbelief in her eyes): You conspired with those murderers in Thermidor!
Raphael: I, in fact, saved him from the guillotine's blade, my angel. You ought to be grateful to me.
Edith: Why do I fail to comprehend the meaning behind your words?
Raphael (gesturing to the side): Bring him up.
A gaoler brings the injured Andre into the cell and roughly throws him inside.
Edith (joyfully, rushing to embrace him): Andre! You are still alive!
Exit gaoler.
Raphael: I sold myself to them in order to bring your little lover back.
Andre: Oh, my beloved, in this moment I endure such shame!
No different from death's cold grasp, they tarnish my name!
Before the eyes of my sweetheart, I stand almost bare,
Controlled by my hateful rival, a heart filled with despair!
Edith (kissing him): At least I can kiss you once again.
Raphael: Your words once again shred my heart! Yet, I remain magnanimous; what is there that I cannot tolerate from you? Embrace him, revel in the joy of reunion, but do not forget the man standing here, whose heart also holds unrequited love!
Andre: Love renders me feeble, dearest Edith! Shall we then rejoice, for fate did not forever our souls tear? Kiss me once more, for I am alive! I am still alive, I swear!
Raphael: It is enough. I believe the joy of reunion has settled. Now it is time for the savior, to receive the reward he deserves. (Enters the prison cell)
Andre (alert): What are you planning, Saint-Clemont?
Raphael: Your future destiny, within my hands it lies,
Endured I have for far too long, love's fire in me cries.
Come, Edith, let me possess you, or let me be possessed—according to your heart's desire.
Edith (stares at Raphael): You can't even dream of it! I would rather die alongside Andre for liberty!
Raphael (pins her down on the ground): Oh, goddess, why should I desire your life? I don't even hope to possess your heart—only a moment of solace, only your flesh!
Andre (furious): Let go of her! Saint-Clemont! You shameless villain! Shameless!
Raphael (pushes Andre onto the straw forcefully): You are no longer the authoritative big shot in the Committee of General Security, Citizen Quenet!
Edith (struggling intensely): Away, Raphael! Release your grip, demon vile!
Raphael: It seems I must bind your frame with might,
Reluctantly, I act, for your fair skin I smite.
Coarse ropes shall brand your tender arms so fair,
My heart, torn with pain, yet desire they flare.
Edith: I shall not yield, even if you bind me tight!
I pledge myself solely to virtue's pure light.
I cannot tolerate filthy tools of evil men,
My honour is too dear to let such vice begin!
Raphael: But your petals, under my touch, revealed,
Honest dew cascades, desires unconcealed!
Your blossoming bud, eagerly it waits,
For my lance's thrust, its longing abates!
Edith: Ah! You, lascivious rogue and devilish beast!
Such treacherous betrayal, an unholy feast!
Beneath saintly facade, one an apostle stands,
The other, a criminal, with vile hands!
Raphael: Call to me, caged beauty, in every plea!
Your passion, awakened, unleashed by me.
Thus, your insults, meant to scorn and deride,
In my ears, they transform, love's sweetest guide!
Andre: My beloved, I stand, helpless in despair,
To witness your torment, this savage affair!
Each piercing of his sword, sinister and cruel,
Shreds my heart, aching, a shattered jewel!
Edith: Forgive me, my dearest, in this woeful plight,
How wretched, the darkness that engulfs our light!
Raphael (acting incessantly, pointing at Andre): But your Andre seems quite excited, dear Edith. Look at what lies beneath!
Edith (crying out): Andre! Andre!
Raphael: Shouting his name while beneath me, my dear, only fuels my frenzy!
Shiver beneath me, Lady Liberty!
Clamp your thighs tightly around my waist,
As I thrust with passion, making you moan and writhe!
Andre: Forgive me, my Edith!
I seem unable to rein my mortal frame!
Why must this dying vessel succumb to lust, despite its feeble breath?
Why does the direst of scenes rouse this ignoble rise?
Raphael: My love, do not push me away!
My rival, cease your escape today!
No virtue stands incorruptible, you see,
We all are weak and small, decree!
Come, seeking but a fleeting ecstasy!
(lifting Edith and moving toward Andre)
Andre (struggling desperately, shaking his head): No, I will never! You madman...
Raphael: Your body betrays your heart. Unite with her before me, and fulfill the yearnings deep within your soul!
Edith: Andre, do not submit to this debauched fiend! Saint-Clemont, you can rely on nothing but allure!
(Raphael tightens the hemp rope binding Andre's arms, placing Edith on his lap.)
Edith: Ah! This was my countless yearning in a dream!
Let Andre bury his nose in my bosom, sweet and deep,
Once again straddle his sturdy fleshly lance,
Yet why is our lovemaking always filled with despair's dance?
When will we finally embrace on a bed, intimate and serene?
Raphael (laughing): There's no harm in a threesome's embrace,
Raphael Saint-Clemont delights in your wild chase!
I enjoy watching your passionate play,
As the three of us frolic in disarray!
Andre: Shame and guilt shudder within my frame,
Yet waves of heat from my loins, they claim!
I struggle to control my swaying hips' urge,
Reduced to a slave of carnal desires, a dirge!
Edith: I forgive you, my lover, for I too burn,
My body ablaze, yearning for you to discern!
To gallop wild upon your heated form,
In our frenzy, passion's raging storm!
Raphael: Allow me to add fuel to this lovers' blaze.
(Taking down the candle illuminating the prison door)
Dearest Andre, feel the scorching wax's craze!
Andre: Ah! The heat and pain, unbearable to bear!
Edith: Cease, Raphael! Is our torment not enough to share?!
Raphael: My love, do you feel his weapon within,
Stiffening, throbbing, a testament to sin?
Look upon your pitiful lover's plight,
Unable to touch himself, gasping in delight!
Edith: Virtue and ethics I have cast aside,
Shedding maiden's shame, no longer to hide.
With my warm and moist paradise, I'll console,
And also satisfy my own carnal role!
Andre: I feel like a steed, driven without respite,
Breathless from ceaseless journeys, day and night!
Ride me, Edith, only you can rescue me,
No other choice remains, but to please him, vile and free!
Raphael: He sways and moans, approaching his peak,
But naturally, I won't let him reach what he seeks.
(Lifting Edith in his arms)
This night, so lengthy, I'll make Quenet wander,
'Twixt heaven and hell, his spirit shall meander!
Andre (twisting his body): Ah! Forgive me, I plea!
This interruption, how cruel it must be!
Almost selling my soul for that fleeting pleasure,
Mercy be upon me, a moment of leisure!
Raphael (lifting the iron chains from the corner and suspending Edith): Let icy fetters wrap around your arms, my love. Lady Liberty, now my slave, behold!
Edith: I'd rather face death's embrace with Andre in tow! What have I done wrong, to become an aristocrat's plaything below?
Raphael: But open your lovely eyes, my angel divine,
Behold, a mightier arrow, a phallus of grand design!
Andre: I've sinned with debauchery and lost my way. The torment of my love lured me astray!
Raphael: Learn how to tame liberty, haughty little leader!
Edith: Oh! I'm already trapped within these prison walls,
Why can't I even control my own flesh, as it falls?
Am I destined to surrender to the bloodline's sin,
At the mercy of lascivious Raphael's whims, within?
Andre: Andre, have you lost your strength of self-restraint?
Will you succumb to the aristocrat's enslavement?
Raphael: Kiss me again, untamed angel of grace!
I feel your core quiver with ecstatic embrace,
Intoxicated with greedy desire, it envelopes me tight!
You love me, Edith, you love me, with all your might!
Edith: No, I may succumb to carnal temptation's snare, but never shall I love a demon with such a wicked stare!
Andre: I beg you, Raphael, have mercy!
Raphael: Listen, your lover pleads, his desire in need. Though unspoken, we know his craving, indeed.
(Raphael took out a leather whip, dipped in the juices from Edith's secret garden, then lashed Andre's abdomen with a wet slap)
Andre: Ah! How can a man bear such humiliation, and still alive? Yet I remain conscious, forced to witness my manhood grow stronger, under the enemy's lash.
Raphael: It follows instinct's call, devoid of reason's guide!
Edith: Why release me from the swinging iron chain,
Only to bind my limbs, restrict and constrain?
How many more wicked tricks do you hold,
To devour our sanity, with desires untold?
Raphael: I'd relish seeing the icy leader kneel,
Tongue exploring your fragrant cave with zeal.
Andre: I've lost all honour, a soul stripped bare.
The vanquished must endure the victor's scorn, unfair!
Let me crawl beneath your skirts, Edith,
Imbibing your aromatic nectar, tasting your divine bliss.
Edith: My soul feels lost in a muddled haze.
Could this all be but a nightmarish phase?
But how did my dreams descend to such decay,
where noble virtue withers and betray?
Raphael: A dream of blooming spring, dearest Edith. Let every nerve of yours my touch pervade. Surrender to sensations, wild and free, as my fingers explore your being, endlessly.
Andre (mumbling): My loins throb with a torturous desire. It yearns for more, a blaze that won't expire.
Raphael (raising the short whip and lashing Edith's buttocks): It seems mere fleshly torment won't appease our lofty leader.
Edith: Raphael! You beast! Marquis de Sade's disciple!
Raphael: To live up to that title, I shall strive, employing all means to pleasure and deprive. Now, sit atop him, my nymph, sublime, my wanton goddess, my captive divine.
Andre: In fiery suction at last, I tremble and quiver,
From her sweet fountain, a stream does deliver.
Ah, my beloved, shower me with your nectar pure,
Let your lucid lewdness upon my body obscure.
Raphael (breathing heavily): Such beauty unfolds, angels once chaste, now in my presence, debauchery embraced! I, too, can no longer resist the swell, longing for release, an ecstatic spell!
Edith: Ah, what is this? A sudden intoxication, an enchanting illusion, soul's elation? I feel my lover clutching me tight, warm, viscous droplets upon my back alight. And I ascend to an uncharted height!
Andre: The pleasure of sin has left me dazed, lying on the ground, thoughts erased, desires razed.
Raphael: Lady Liberty, you've set my heart astir, with joys bestowed, near breathless I confer. Just the thought brings solace, a rapturous thrill, of days to come, infinite and fulfilled!
(The End)