SPIRIT
FIRE
MUSIC DRAMA
WILLIAM MASELLI
{THOMAS JEFFERSON
{TOM, son of Sally and Jefferson
{SALLY HEMINGS
{CHANTELLE, daughter of Sally andJefferson
RANA, spiritual leader
RADA, son of rana
LAFAYETTE
GEORGE WASHINGTON
ALEXANDER HAMILTON
SLAVES, SEAMEN, YOUNG GIRLS, LEADERS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Scenes: Coast of France; Paris; New York; Monticello,Virginia.
SUMMARY
ACT
ONE
Jefferson walks along the coast of
ACT
TWO
Jefferson and Sally return to
ACT
THREE
Years have passed. Jefferson and Sally remain outside the drama. Jefferson is
succeeded by his and SallyÕs son Tom, while Sally is followed by her and
SPIRIT FIRE
ACT I
Scene: The
coast of
Young Women:
Enchanted Morn!
Graced by thoughts of you!
Timeless and Enduring
Radiance of Love!
Jefferson:
Little Bird
I seek for you in darkened skies
I call for you with silent cries
What vision can you bear to me
Across the sea of Eternity?
Little Bird
Who sang in time with LoveÕs sweet rhyme
Floating on the winds of Time
Still pouring forth her melodies
Upon the breeze of Eternity!
I remember you O Timeless One!
I soared upon your wings
Little Bird
Once captured in a mortal cage
Your beauty conquered mortal rage
A precious gift you gave to me
Eternity in your love
Scene sounds the distant glow of passion past
O lightning flash!
Calm, my heart, at last!
I remember you O wondrous one
I sheltered Ōneath your wings
Little Bird
We conjure LifeÕs Immortal Glow
I stroke the stream our spiritÕs flow
I never could erase your pain
ManÕs tragedies remain!
But still my little bluebird sings
In my heart for all Eternity!
Young Women:
Feel the Heartbeat of the Sea!
Dance into the sacred grove
With lilting step
Behold!
Sweet fragrance of the rosesÕ bloom
Enlightens shadows from the moon
Entrancing!
O meadow lark, your melody
With what great spirit is in tune
Glancing oÕer the golden noon
Which tears the morn from loversÕ eyes
And disregarding loversÕ sighs
Rushes forth the heat of day
Into earth our spirits lay
So soon the blazing sun does fall
Our souls return the starry call with Light!
Seek the pulse of All!
Sight and sound and scent and sea
Reverberate in harmony!
Eternity!
Feel the heartbeat of the sea!
Young Women and Boatmen:
Hail to the daughters of the sea!
Sally :
What a magical land!
I am filled with hope and fear!
Scene:
Sally:
I feel a vision;
I see a mighty heart bound by chains of grief;
I see pain so intense the spirit screams like the wolf;
ItÕs cry sounds abroad the peaks and valleys of the mountains of Virginia.
Loved everywhere except to the very depths of your soul,
Where you are completely alone,
Bleeding, exhausted, weak with struggle.
I place my hand on your breast,
My blood rushes to your hidden chambers,
My prayers climb to glistening Light
And your Spirit soars within me.
By the Grace of God I heal you and grant you Freedom!
Do you know whatÕs been said?
What is truly believed?
That you consumed her heart with extreme conjury,
By invoking divine spirits through enchanting music,
In so rare a form that the entire scene
And the union itself
Was blessed by God.
And the song itself, I believe you still remember it.
I believe you could sing it.
I believe the crystal moon and the diamond stars,
The rising breath of the very soul of the earth,
Have set the stage,
And I am an eager heart to be won by you.
MusicÕs Eyes are the Universe
Exploding
Screaming beams of primal Light,
Tearing force of destruction of ancient form:
MusicÕs eyes are the soul of Creation.
MusicÕs eyes are volcanoes
Breathing
Massive weight of earth and fire
Passion seething blazing searing stone and sea:
MusicÕs eyes are the blood of desire.
Jefferson and Sally:
MusicÕs eyes are the prophets of God
Caressing
Gracing streams flowing peace,
Willing winds embracing vision, faith:
MusicÕs eyes are the singing stars!
Scene:
The blazing questions of the day
We have discussed and been enlightened on by our American comrade;
With so much resolved,
Let us break to taste wine;
Let it torch our blood with freedomÕs desire.
We honor tonite the man who has won us all
By the purity of his spirit,
By the burning passion which lights his heart,
And for the lion courage which flashes for the world,
Illuminating the highest peaks of Man and God.
Hail! To this Son of God
Who combats with the Fire of the stars!
Leaders of the Revolution:
Hail!
Jefferson:
The earth has moved
And the Race is arising!
Leaders of the Revolution:
He has led the way for the freedom of Man!
The earth has moved and the Race is arising!
The stars embrace the searching Son!
Leaders of the Revolution:
The stars embrace the searching Son!
Scene: Bedroom Balcony
Sally:
And he swore that he would never again marry!
Marriage!
What a fantasy for this lost child.
I am no one:
I do not exist.
Oh,
Alive and bursting with LifeÕs passion!
Oh, fire of my spirit,
That burns a sacred duty upon me;
That pours the flow of Love
That has become the very breath of my existence.
And my growing child,
Forming from chaos and the enslaving void
Into a sword to grace the right hand of God.
Where do I lay this sacred claim?
Oh mystery in liberty
And liberty in Love!
ACT II
Scene:
The Crowd:
Welcome to
Where the breathing Constitution
Sustains the
Hail to the Masters of our destiny!
Hail
Hail
Alexander Hamilton:
moving away from the crowd to a solitary
ocean overlook.
He was so eloquent;
The man is in love,
Or so intoxicated with
That the dust of this outpost does not choke his spirits.
Life is mysterious;
The streams of destiny flow in locked rhyme
Clasped within a dance of chaste embrace
And the flowing blood of ancient fire.
My lover is the Sea
And in her depths I breathed
Flourishing in radiant harmonies of sunlight
Drawn within the deep embrace of her massive soul
But I was cast out onto land
To wander within the dry kiss of shallow soil
To gaze in distance and in grief
At the majesty of the horizon eyes that forever blind and escape
But I drew close to the sea
And have touched her sandy shore
And in fine moments of destiny
I have lain by the waters that rush to the sea
And placed my hands in to the flow of her mystic sources
And lain in chaste embrace
Upon the mist of the breath of her soul
But from those unseen depths of desperate desire
And unfathomable reaches of spirit sway
I am forever banished
The sea is my lover and I taste her still
(Scene: On a Monticello hilltop. 1792.
Beautiful fall day. Sally is alone near a stream. She finishes reading a
letter).
Sally:
Our second child is two months from entering the world,
I can feel its spirit so strong;
And now, instead of arriving home in two weeks,
The Ņcritical nature of the public welfare will require my absence
indefinitely;
It is my fondest desire to be home to you in the spring.Ó
And here I am, alone and desperate,
And my only strength to endure was your coming to me
now.
All is fine with the world, of course, in time;
You who gave me new life, who relit the stars,
Has cast the darkness into the very depths of my soul;
All is fine with the world, of course:
In time.
(She reads his letter again; slowly she becomes more animated, then writes a return letter. As she finishes a group of
slave children surround her and beg her to read the letter they have seen her
write. Eventually she relents).
In a vision of the world dreaming spirits love with kindness
Drifting melodies foretell harmonies that color blindness
In the suffering of the world dreaming spirits love with kindness
Love sustains the universehHope remains a mystic
timeless soul
You create the universe, so my heart has been relating
Lifting up my lonely soul, dreams my art has been creating
In the magic of your eyes fires glitter unabating
Heating up my frozen soul beating in my heart creating love.
Love keeps hope alive
Hope keeps love alive
Angels dressed in robes of white in the spiritÕs world transcendent
Holding forth the sacred flame lighting stars in skies resplendent
Lift my long-enduring heart with your love
I touch the essence of creation
Born within LifeÕs timeless vision
And the magic of your blessing
Timeless sacred love
If on mortal paths we part torn by tragedies unfolding
Save the essence of my soul
Burning love weÕve both been holding
Love soars on high
Is reborn by your prayers
Prayers of love keep hope alive
Only the light of hope keeps my spirit alive
Hope creates the flow of love
And only love sustains the Universe.
Scene:
Alexander Hamilton:
Romance is illusion
Love and passionÕs power
Fade as morningÕs glories
Rise above the waters
Truth in massive sway
Conquers scattered dreams
Weakness is eternal
Strength like fleeting lightening
Strikes without emotion
Shattering illusions
Truth in bold display
Rules the battlefield
It is the spirit of survival that we feed
When dreams that blind mankind are scorned and cast away
In mortal life we must survive to rule the day
In mortal life!
In mortal life illusionÕs veil is torn away
In mortal life we must survive another day
Lovers dream of freedom
Poets bleed with passion
Mystics preach transcendence
Enraptured states of fashion
Time in sober sway
Casts its cold embrace
Memories and magic
Vanish into blackness
Essence-tasting splendor
Pales as weak as moonlight
Sun, O burning fire,
Chart my destiny
It is the spirit of survival that we feed
By casting off absurd impracticalities
We must be ruled by strength and social destiny
In mortal life
In mortal life embrace the social destiny
In mortal life we cripple freedom to be free
In mortal life
Jefferson:
Visions born of starlight
Captivate eternal
MysteryÕs enchantment
Magic child of starlight
Love, eternal glow
Lift my weary soul
Mystery of starlight
Time enchanting essence
CaptureÕs lifeÕs eternal
Yearning for Creation
Love, in fiery glow,
Burn in freedomÕs blaze
It is the spirit of Creation that we free
When chains that choke mankind are scorned and cast away
In freedomÕs soul the light of heavenÕs glowing bright
In liberty!
In liberty the eyes of God are shining bright
In liberty flourishes Love
Flourishing Love
In Liberty
Washington:
Freedom and commitment
Mystic combination
Sacred base of power
Solemn celebration
Love, not passionÕs flame,
Sets the starry sky
Flying from one frenzy
To the next enchantment
Sundering connection
From faith and tradition
All illusion fails!
And what remains? --- Behold!
It is a sacred post our spirits seize upon
To bar the passage of disgrace, depravity
And feel the rushing of the blood-bestirring soul
With Sacred Light!
With Sacred Light the Race transcends mortality
With Sacred Light the Spirit tastes Divinity
With Sacred Light breathe FreedomÕs Fire.
Jefferson:
In liberty the eyes of God are shining bright
With Sacred Light the Race transcends mortality
In mortal life we must survive another day
With Sacred Light breathe freedomÕs fire
In Mortal life we must survive
In Liberty Flourishes Love!
Scene:
Jefferson and Sally:
You are the Evening Star!
Your light beams into my soul,
You fill me with your warmth, your love;
I am only in your Light!
The journey carries me
Into regions Dark, Desolate, Lost!
I stagger with the fierce thirst of betrayal and despair
I grasp for my shattering essence
Frozen and fractured amidst the seething void!
Betrayal, Despair;
Seething frozen void!
Oh, Light!
EyesÕ Light!
Oh the light of your eyes,
I am bound to my destiny!
I am bound to your love!
I live only in you
My Evening Star!
They wander into a slave ritual
Male Slaves:
From the swirling of the sand
In the swirling of the sea
Pass the spirit screams
And agonies and melodies of grim despair
In corruption and decay
And the lie of FortuneÕs smile
Shadows dance within the morning light
Enshrouding even bitter dreams
And every song of NatureÕs call rebounds in time
To frenzied frightened beatings of the brain
Iced with destiny of futility
Hopeless dreams of fire kindle cruel desire
Embrace tortured life
Caress fleeting Time
Rejoice wanton waste
Sing tones of despair
Rana:
From the swirling of the sand
In the swirling of the sea
I invoke the light of mystery:
O ecstacies of mystery!
In the visions of the soul
Shatter shadows of despair
In the beating heart of passionÕs fire
Burns ecstacies of mystery
Arouse the flame of passionÕs fire:
Enfueled embrace!
Your shimmer shatters shadows of despair
And with Love I rise
Reaching paradise
Soaring into Time
Mystic starry climb
I burn passionÕs glow
Caress face of God
I taste spiritÕs light
I soar unto God
(Sally and Jefferson are discovered)
Sally:
Peace.
The Jefferson Bill Of Rights.
The Bill for Religious Freedom.
The Declaration of
Jefferson himself wrote, with these hands,
The Declaration of Independence,
Where he tried to kill the capture and trafficking of Africans.
His draft of the first Constitution for the State of
Abolished
And you will be free!
In the name of God I promise you
That the day of freedom will come.
We hold these truths to be self-evident
That all men are created equal
And we are endowed by our Creator
With certain inalienable rights
Among these are Life,
And the pursuit of happiness.
Life!
With faith in God
We pledge our lives
Our fortunes
And our sacred honor.
To assume among the powers of the earth
The separate and equal station
To which the laws of Nature
And NatureÕs God entitle them.
By NatureÕs God!
ACT III
Scene: The
plantation fields of
Female Slaves:
Enchanted morn!
Graced by thoughts of you!
Timeless and enduring
Radiance of Love!
Rada:
Where does Beauty lie in Love?
Where does Justice lie in Fate?
In darkness we must contemplate
And strain our eyes in feeble sight
To probe below and then above
So slow to grasp that we are Light.
Rada and Male Slaves:
So slow, so slow, so sad tis true
So far from home we rest content
There to groan our sad lament
Decrying FortuneÕs wanton ways
As though our trials were something new
Untouched by LifeÕs Eternal Rays
Rada:
I do not seek Love in your eyes
Nor do I seek it in your smile
And if your heart I donÕt beguile
I shall not moan in mad frustration
For I donÕt seek Love in disguise
But rest deep in her consummation!
Tom:
We wonder why he sings a sad lament!
Put the lessons of my sister to fair use and
Sound this scenting script
And soothingly sunder the shackles
Shielding sister ChantelleÕs shadowed soul:
Unveil this to the beauty of the moon
And catch her smile!
Tom and Rada:
Do you feel the pounding of my heart, sweet love?
Do you feel my image in your soul, sweet love?
Do you mourn when we lie apart, sweet love?
Your eyes of flaming passion scorch my soul, sweet love
The beauty of your heart makes me bold, sweet love
I love you, sweet love
Upon the ramblings of my brain
And in the depths of my desire
My vision reaches higher
Beyond what could be sane
Beyond where Life is dwelling
Carried fiercely by LoveÕs swelling
Driving driving driving driving
Over mountains mad with anger
At this mortal arrogation
Of deathÕs abnegation
Spinning! Yes IÕm spinning!
Driven by LoveÕs power
Consumed in passionÕs flower
Blooming for salvation
I am saved by GodÕs creation
As I live in realization
Of LoveÕs transfiguration
Such a pleasing consummation
In the spiritÕs figuration
A poet by complexion or merely through reflection?
Indeed I wax most foolish with rhymes which seem most ghoulish
O pardon me, my men of taste
O pardon me my lady fair!
If my image IÕve disgraced
I beg you stroke my loverÕs hair!
Oh bliss! Your sweet report
Has left me stumbling down the road
Where once I traveled firm and strait
Unburdened by LoveÕs heavy load
I smile even in my shame
I cannot feign to be a square
I cannot play this mortal game
Since IÕve stroked my loverÕs hair
And so I kiss thee sweet sweet love
And so I love thee sweet sweet love
I lie I laughter not in shame
You are above me sweet sweet dame!
Chantelle:
Voice offstage, ethereal, audible only to Rada
Rada! Rada!
Rada listens intently, then runs
offstage, followed more slowly by
the assemblage, Tom remains.
Scene: In the cabin.
Rana:
Rada my son, take my kiss and be strong.
Rada:
I am unable to lead the people.
You know who is the force among us.
Rana:
God will give you what you need to defend the post He has assigned.
Seek the soul of Chantelle!
All will be left to you.
Keep Truth alive!
Keep Hope alive!
I stand on the mountains of the sea
I soar with the Angel of Freedom
I taste the kiss of my father.
Keep Hope Alive!
She dies. Chantelle
and Rada perform religious rites, wash the body, clothe it in white linen.
Chantelle: (Kneeling
before Rana, then slowly rising)
And the crystal shines through the window pane
Be it sun, be it moon, be it stars, be it rain
Yes the crystal shines through the wind of Time
O Luminous Light!
And the music plays through the crafted pine
Be it his, be it hers, be it yours, be it mine
Yes the music plays through escaping days
O Luminous Light!
O Greed, you are worldly wise
Few may escape your magnetic lies
O Love you eternalize
You, Eternal Eyes!
O Luminous Light!
Rada:
You are the natural heir
You can invoke spirits from the mountain air
Chantelle:
I am a Christian woman!
Rada:
And you will be free and will never be mine
Chantelle:
And you will be free and will always be mine
Rada:
And in your look I have my answer, you will never be mine
Across fields of autumn
Across skies of winter
The voices of nations in joined spirit flow
Beckon to a burning glow of Spirit Fire!
To loose the chords of ice in warm embrace
As timeless torrents come in measured rhyme of Truth
Captive beauty borne as molten streams of Spirit Fire
Unbound within the steaming womb
Of your vision and your soul and your love!
Your voice unfolds in timeless toll
Mysterious and Immortal Soul!
As we are seared upon the mystic pyre of Spirit Fire!
Eyes of Black, seared with fire
Ancient dreams, spirit beams
Burning womb, bleeding desire
Mystic Love of Spirit Fire
Skin as fine as silken soul
Deep with dreamsÕ timeless toll
Eyes ablaze with burning desire
Heat my blood with Spirit Fire
Molten flow of Spirit Fire
Mystic Love of Spirit Fire!
Chantelle:
How can I make you feel
The pure spirit of my love
And send the light of my devotion
Into your heart so strong that it shines in your eyes
It is my wish and only dream
That the pure spirit of my love
Forever shines in your eyes
To light the stars
So my love and soul
And all Eternity ---
Through my love for you ---Are One.
Scene: In a forest valley at night
Rada:
Moonlight passes through complex tangles of branches and leaves
Above the path I walk through the forest silent and dark
Shadows shift in graceful caresses of quivering penetration
My heart is heavy with the weight
Burdened by colours of blackest sight
Shrouded with shadows carved of blackest night
Pierced by the sabers of the glancing moon
Burned by the embers of her dancing womb
I am hopeless in exposed captivity
To be taken by the arrows of my destiny
To be crushed in faithless fury?
To be free! To be free!
I embrace your beaming presents from afar!
I am fired by the essence of your light
Timeless soul connection, mystic flight
I am yours forever, you are mine at least tonite!
I am dreaming Chantelle Shining Star
I am breathing Chantelle Shining Star
I am only Chantelle Shining Star
Scene: In the mansion.
Chantelle:
I commend my brother on his extraordinary achievements,
Despite an unseemly nonchalance and dispassion these last few years.
I will miss you deeply and will cherish before you the roads you shall travel
And by that cherishing keep the Spirit of the Lord
upon you.
Tom:
In the Mysteries of Life I seek for happiness!
Shadows and sorrows be gone!
Chantelle:
In the Mysteries of Life I seek for Holiness!
Shadows and sorrows be gone!
Chantelle:
Tom:
Mystery in
Chantelle:
IÕve a melody for you the stars are singing
Fortune and Grace light your way!
Tom:
IÕve a harmony for you itÕs all embracing
My love shall vibrate your heart!
Tom:
Harmony in Melody!
Chantelle:
Melody in Harmony!
Chantelle and Tom:
In the Mysteries of flight IÕll hold you tightly
In the Mysteries of flight embrace me tightly
Clothe me with flowers of Love!
Scene:
Tom:
In a dream that seemed so magical
All the world was bathed in blue
And the brilliance of your eyes so true
Captivated
Everything I ever thought I knew
All the wisdom of the sky
All the beauty that surrounds you
The dream!
That made you clear to me.
Deep inside the forest where you hide
Shrouded by the silence there
Melodies that travel from your soul
Mystify Me
Drifting from the dark and weary world
Dreaming visions follow you
And the magic that you shine upon the sleeping children
Dream!
That brings your love to me.
All of the world is just a dream to me
And in your eyes I see LoveÕs light
Visions in whispers of your melodies
The memories that keep me alive
In your kiss the stars shine paradise
In the touch of your skin the world is born
And in the secrets of your mystery
I fly in timeless melody
In a corner of the universe in blackÕning shade
We are driven to embrace the stormy(winter) night
And in time all the shining fire of LoveÕs desire
Is encircled by the shading dance of night
In this world I can dream of your love for me
In this night I can will the world aflame
But you with your silence and scornful air
Crucify my heart, my soul, my brain
Deep in embers of your fading glow
Burn the fires of passionÕs dance
Images of beauty you inspire
Romance me
Not a thing that you can say or do
Silences the starry sky
And the magic that you beam upon my sleeping spirit
Dream!
That brings your love to me.
Tom begins walking, drinking wine from the
bottle.
My heart is heavy in contemplation but light in pleasure
My goal is no more concrete than those of the blooming carnations
Which spread like Divine Creation at my feet
I snatch one from its bearings
An intoxicating breath later sending it floating merrily down the rolling
stream
Its cares as immaterial as the delicately tenuous bubbles it
Shatters into nothingness
Drifting on another aimless escapade
All truth escapes me, all care melts into the frenzied night
Even love whispers to me in frightened tones
Between the outbursts of impetuous laughter
Drifting on another aimless escapade!
I am left alone to wander
Even the dogs having found time to rest
I feel the pulse of Life but it does not bind me in gravity
I jest at the melancholy recesses of my heart and soul
Making their desperate longings sport for my wine-soaked wit!
I stand alone
A mighty victor!
Amidst the shadows of the golden moon
Soon passing through the sparkling night
With only the gods and the stars for my companions
For my inspiration and my pleasure and my Life!
RanaÕs funeral procession approaches below
Male slaves:
Bitter night descending, Spirit voices bending
Round the peaks that frame the glistening sky
Autumn wind is pressing, flesh to flesh undressing
Scars that bind the pain in twisting time
Mystic climb --- climb!
In the stars gleams your light
FreedomÕs star dreams of Light
Mothers lost and mourning, shallow waters warning
Shattered souls bewail the dawning light
Images of moonlight, sacred scenes of starlight
Visions that transcend this mortal life
Ancient life ---Life!
Rada:
O star that shines upon my native home!
Transcend the chains that bind Immortal Time!
Receive this depth of soul and light the gemstone
That gleams through mountain snows in
Male slaves:
SpiritÕs home, chaste desire!
Vastness is transcended, earth and heaven blended
Rapturous embrace primordial grace
Bitter chill descending, Nature unrelenting
Mystic senses stall neath flesh and blood
SatanÕs flood --- drown!
Tom:
O star that shines upon my native home!
Transcend the chains that bind Immortal Time!
Receive this depth of soul and light the gemstone
That gleams through mountain snows in
Male slaves:
Oh!
In the stars gleams your light
FreedomÕs star dreams of Light!
Male slaves and Tom:
DawnÕs embrace caressing, flesh to flesh undressing
Naked spirits dance on spears of fire
Floods of blood are racing, destiny is chasing
Visions that transcend this mortal life
Ancient life --- Life!
Male and female slaves, Tom, Rada, Chantelle:
O star that shines upon my native home
Transcend the chains that bind Immortal Time!
Receive this depth of soul and light the gemstone
That gleams through mountain snows in Africa/Virginia
Africa/Virginia beam your fire
FreedomÕs home, sworn desire
Spirits are transcending, ancient voices bending
Round the peaks that frame the glistening sky
Souls embrace in starlight, enraptured grace of moonlight
Mystic union joins each seeking son[sun]
Born as One ---One!