Libretto for a Female Lead
(from The Book of Warnings)

In the opening scene
the actors address
the Syrian Armed Forces.
During Act III
one of them is tortured
on the third floor of the abandoned building
the Syrians use for recreation.

Before the climax
several audience members
are asked to leave.
During the intermission
the main character ambles
through the occupied building,
talking to herself.

In the farthest room
are wine bottles and a flak jacket,
twisted pieces of old rope
and pictures of half dressed women
from magazines, their nipples
drawn as circles with red ink.

Other rooms have similar items,
pieces of stale bread,
discarded clothing
and cigarette butts.

In the closing scene of Act II
the main character finds faith
in the creator and sustainer
of the entire universe.
The curtains are drawn closed.
The audience cannot see her
but they do hear the muezzin.

During Acts I and IV
the audience is reminded to applaud
at preordained times,
the moments of liberation:
an old theater trick
for audiences who forget their lines..

In the final scene
while the main character
rises into the air
suspended by thin bungee cords,
American soldiers advance
dressed as dancers in full regalia
lifting her spirit
from the refuse of her occupation.
Ticker tape falls from the heavens.