76: To say the Shema twice daily
The Book of Love of God
Laws of Reading the Shema
To say the Shema twice daily (Num 6:7)
a desolate alien planet
grey jagged rock as far as the eye can see
sitting on a rock is the ASTRONAUT in her spacesuit
she recites the Shema
the microphone in her helmet is on so we can hear her
quiet but audible
slightly garbled by the glitchy microphone
she recites the Shema again
blackout
* * *
lights up
a new day
the ASTRONAUT still sitting on the rock
she recites the Shema
we hear it slightly garbled through the microphone
she recites the Shema again
blackout
* * *
lights up
a new day
the ASTRONAUT still sitting on the rock
she recites the Shema
we hear it slightly garbled through the microphone
she recites the Shema again
blackout
* * *
lights up
a new day
the ASTRONAUT is no longer alone
an eight-foot-tall ALIEN stands before her
the ALIEN has neon orange skin and one eye
the two stare each other down
the ASTRONAUT recites the Shema
we hear it slightly garbled through the microphone
she is trying to remain calm
the ASTRONAUT begins to recite the Shema again
the ALIEN pulls off her helmet
more curious than vicious
the ASTRONAUT chokes from a lack of oxygen
the ALIEN watches with fascination
the ASTRONAUT jumps for her helmet
but the ALIEN is too tall
she can’t reach
the ASTRONAUT dies
the ALIEN stares at her body
blackout
* * *
lights up
a new day
the ALIEN is gone
the body of the ASTRONAUT is still there
her helmet lays beside her
long silence
no sound
just absence
and then
quietly
we hear the ASTRONAUT recite the Shema again
but the sound doesn’t come from her lifeless body
the sound comes from the speaker in her helmet
slightly garbled but still audible
a ghost in the machine
the ASTRONAUT’s voice from the helmet recites the Shema again
the helmet goes quiet
a spirit flickering out of existence
the silence stretches on
END OF PLAY