26: Not to blaspheme

The Book of Knowledge
Laws of Idolatry and Paganism
Not to blaspheme (Ex. 22:27)

            a group of SUBJECTS sit in a circle

            they are all sewing their own mouths shut with needle and thread

            a KING addresses them

KING
take your land, make you work it, burn your crops, dry the rivers, give you gold, boil the seas, call it a blessing, kill your wife, kill your child, kill their children, kill their husbands, call it a blessing, demands your prayers, your silks, your hearts, say nothing when you ask after me, send a flood, a lion, a pack of wildebeests, head lice, sarcoma lesions, tuberculosis, finger-falling-off disease, a boulder down a mountain, a serpent up the river, snake bites, head lice did i already say that?, salt your land, give it back, make you work it, pay me tithes, rape your goats, eat your cattle, call it a blessing, name your child, name your land, your people, your fruits, your galaxies, crash the banks, the cars, split you with a knife, split you with a cleaver, chop and quarter, keep you in a cave, keep you in the desert, call it a blessing, burn your crops again, make you thank me for it, send an army to your city walls, pirates to your ships, burglars to your homes, terrorists to your palaces, give you a child who loves you, another one who hates you, who hates the first child, let them run rampant, let them steal your passport, your watches, your dignity, call it a blessing, any questions?

            the SUBJECTS have all finished sewing their mouths shut

            none of them can speak

            one of them goes up to the KING

            and begins sewing his mouth shut

            the KING keeps speaking until he no longer can

KING
give you laws, give you food, give you language, call it a burden, make a covenant, protect and defend, light the way, burn the bush, cross the ocean with you, give you glory, give you power, give you understanding, teach you values, teach you skills, teach you ideas, teach you and teach you, call it a burden, save your child, save your city, drown your enemies, burn their crops, boil their cats, accept your sacrifice, bless you tenfold, call it a burden, mmmnhm nmnglp gmnbltpg ghdjrty…

            his mouth is sewn shut

            he joins the rest of the circle

            becoming another SUBJECT

            a NEW KING enters

            opens his mouth to begin speaking

            END OF PLAY