Eyes (a two person dialogue with the audience)

Note to Readers: This is another performance piece I have done with a friend before live audiences to good reviews. It is not a "dialogue" per se, in that the performers do not speak to each other; but rather to the audience and are, instead, each oblivious of the other party. Both are seated on stools, slightly facing away from the other and toward the audience. I have differentiated betwen the speaking roles via standard text for one and italics for the other.

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                                                                    Eyes

I saw her standing in the moonlight in a park in Austin, Texas. There amid rose and carnations and other delicacies. I wasn't looking for her -- or anyone. I'm not the kind of guy who stalks ladies in the park. I often go there -- to be alone. That's all I wanted then.

Then she looked at me with wide green brilliant stars that shot comets or lasers or some kiind of star-wars super blasto-o beams that knocked me silly. Suddenly, nothing existed except her -- and those brilliant green star eyes.

I was terrified. I had never felt anything so wonderful.

I forgot that humans die if they don't breathe.

I saw him standing in Zilker Park in Austin. It was summer, warm and glorious. I was marveling over fireflies that swarmed about me blinking madly like tiny, angry aircraft. I felt like King Kong atop the Empire State Building.

There were millions of stars and a fat yellow moon and delicious rose aromas. I didn't notice him at first. Amid so much splendor, his ordinariness made him almost invisible. I started to glance away.

Suddenly, he looked at me with incredible fervor -- the way I've always thought Romeo first looked at Juliet.

He started gasping and turned deathly while, and God, those eyes! They were filled with desperate, eternal love. I could feel it.

A woman would do anything for that. Anything.

It struck me like a bolt of lightening and almost knocked me to the ground. I stood there like an idiot, trembling from head to foot.

Naturally, as soon as I was able, I ran.

I couldn't move. I was too stunned. Only my eyes could follow her and they could go nowhere else.

At last I could command my feet to shuffle and I pointed them in the direction she had taken.

At the parking lot, I caught her shadow -- cast long and dark by a rich, full moon. Even that two dimensional, featureless black shape of her was enough to make me gasp. Desire came boiling up and urged me on with swelling prods against my thigh -- told me to catch her now, lead her off into the cool, soft grass, rip off her dress, and do it, where anyone who wanted to could watch -- and see what they were missing. Surely, they would weep and stagger home and slit their wrists.

I gasped then. What is this? I thought in horror. I don't do those kinds of things -- I'm a decent human being! But one hand reached inside my jeans to touch myself.

I could feel him somewhere behind me when I reached my car. I fumbled with my keys and nearly swooned. I stabbed the key blindly home through sudden tears, stomped the gas and squealed away not caring if some stray dog or jogger got in my way.