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forth our patience
    Show forth our dignity

    SPEAK
    Saint Judy Chicago
    Show us our possibilities
    Holy ones forgive us
    Forgive us our sainthood

    RHYTHMIC SPEECH
    Woman woman
    Eccentric woman
    Feral woman
    F e r a l woman
    Woman
    •

    Decrepit woman
    Decrepit woman
    Decrepit woman
    Without home
    Without house
    Without cage
    Without fortress
    Without bars
    •

    Woman eccentric feral decrepit
    Without home
    Without cage
    Without fortress
    Without bars
    •

    Do what you will
    Not caring
    Not crying
    Not wailing
    Do what you will
    •

    Trudging trudging
    No bar no burden
    She bears herself
    Alone she travels
    From nowhere to nowhere
    Alone alone alone
    •

    Woman woman
    Eccentric woman
    Feral decrepit
    Without home
    Without house
    Trudging trudging
    No bar no burden
    She bears herself
    Alone she travels
    From nowhere to nowhere
    Alone alone alone

    GENTLER VOICE
    The foxes have holes
    The birds have nests
    The saint has nowhere to lay her head
    Nowhere to rest
    Pilgrim she wanders
    From street
    To street
    In a fusty skirt
    In a tattered dress
    •

    The foxes have holes
    The birds have nests
    But she has no place
    To lay her head
    But she rests
    She rests
    She rests as she wanders
    She rests from life
    From strife
    As she wanders

    CHILDREN’S TAUNTING VOICES
    Baglady Baglady
    Left her house
    In a tattered skirt and blouse
    Danced in a subway
    Danced in a park
    Slept in a doorway
    Cold and dark
    Evie ivy over
    One two three four five…
    Evie ivy over
    One two three four five
    Six seven eight nine ten
    •
    Baglady haglady
    Baglady haglady
    Carries her life in a shopping bag
    •

    Like a scruffy alleycat
    Scratching for this
    Poking for that
    Dirty harridan
    Filthy old hag
    Carries it all
    In a shopping bag
    •

    Evie ivy over
    One two three four
    •

    Baglady haglady
    Baglady haglady
    Carries her life in a shopping bag

    SKINNY FUSSY VOICE
    (cackle of laughter)
    Pick pick pick
    Pickpickpick
    Hmm hmm hmm hmm
    Hmm hmm hmm hmm
    •

    Pick pick pick
    Pickpickpick
    Hmm hmm hmm hmm
    Hmm hmm hmm hmm
    •

    Pick up this
    Pick up that
    Put it in the bag
    •

    It’s mine it’s mine
    It’s mine it’s mine
    I found it
    •

    Pick up this
    Pick up that
    Put it in the bag
    •

    It’s mine it’s mine
    It’s mine it’s mine
    I found it
    Pick up a comb
    Pick up a shoe
    Pick up a kerchief
    A bangle
    A hairclip
    A lipstick
    Hmm hmm hmm hmm
    •

    Pick it up
    Into the bag it goes
    Now it’s mine
    All I have
    In this bag
    All I have
    •

    Pickpick pickpick pickpick
    Pickpickpick
    Pick pick pickpickpick
    Pickpick pickpick
    Pick it up
    I found it
    I found it
    It’s mine
    Pick up a doll
    A jacket torn pockets
    Squeaky duck [squeaks it]
    Rusty toy truck
    A ring
    A comic
    A magazine – Vogue is it?
    Last month’s Vogue
    Last week’s Time
    Yesterday’s paper
    I found it
    I found it
    It’s mine
    It’s mine
    •

    Pick pick pick
    Pickpickpick
    Hmm hmm hmm hmm
    Hmm hmm hmm hmm
    •

    A magazine – Vogue is it?
    Last month’s Vogue
    Last week’s Time
    Yesterday’s paper
    I found it
    I found it
    It’s mine It’s mine
    •

    Isn’t yesterday’s news as good as today’s?
    Yesterday yesterday I was someone else
    Someone in new clothes
    Forget it forget it
    Like last month’s Vogue
    Like last week’s Time
    Like yesterday’s paper
    Like yesterday’s news
    Forgotten forgotten
    It’s gone
    •

    gone gone gone gone gone
    gone gone gone gone [fading]

    CHANT
    Foxes have holes and birds have nests
    But she has nowhere to lay her head
    Nowhere to rest

    SPEAK
    A pillow of stone
    A blanket of rags
    A sheet of newspaper
    •

    Picking up this picking up that
    •

    Yesterday’s news as good as today’s

    CHANT
    Forgive us our mumblings
    Listen to our prayer
    Mumble mumble mumble
    Mumble mumble
    Mumble mumble mumble
    •

    We have abandoned our parents
    We have abandoned our children
    We have abandoned our mates
    Abandoned the world
    Mumble mumble mumble
    Mumble mumble

    SPEAK
    Holy saints forgive us our sainthood

Poetics of