Litany of the Bagladies
BAGGY BAGLADY
SKINNY BAGLADY
BB – It’s the legs mostly. Legs tired all the time. You keep walking, walking, carrying your stuff. Dragging everything along with you. When you sleep you sleep sitting up. That’s the hardest thing on the legs. The hardest thing.
SB – I’ll be at the train station, sitting on a bench with a hand on each of my bags, and I’ll be thinking how did you get into this mess, Dolly? How did it come about?
BB – It’s the legs mostly …
SB – This is certainly not what I expected of myself. Not at all what I could have expected.
BB – These sores on me legs. I’ve had ’em a long time now. Six months, a year, two years mebbe. Every so often I take a busride down to the hospital, get ’em fixed up a bit. Try to keep off your feet Mrs. Adams. Snarky bitch.
SB – How did I get into this mess anyway?
BB – That’s a laugh isn’t it? (laughs bitterly) You just nicely gets snoozing on a bench and a cop moves you on. (laughs again) Moving on. Legs aching. Trying to find a place to sleep. Something to eat. A bathroom where you can wash up, change y’clothes. Comb y’hair a bit.
SB – I’m a mess. I should go down to McDonald’s or maybe out to the U of S. They have decent washrooms there. Always tidy and clean. I should get my hair done too. It’s a mess.
BB – Get something to eat. Mebbe I’ll ask for a doughnut, cuppa coffee. Sometimes they’ll give you something.
SB – You know I used to read a lot. Philosophy, social comment, politics. Yes I was very interested in politics … Now when I go to the library it’s because it’s warm in there. And the chairs are so comfortable, and padded. Like heaven after these hard benches. Mmm hmm Mmm hmm …
BB – Walking, walking, trying to get a bit of a snooze. Walking. Walking. Walking. (coughs)
CHANT
Saint Brenda defend us
Saint Brenda defend us
Jeanne d’Arc fight for us
Saint Emmeline Pankhurst struggle for us
Show forth our anger
Saint Brenda defend us
Saint Brenda defend us
Jeanne d’Arc fight for us
Saint Emmeline Pankhurst struggle for us
Show forth our anger
SPEAK
Holy saints alive
Be there when we arrive
Holy saints alive
Saint Barbara falling from your tower
Understand our despair our despair
We ask you Saint Clare
Show us your poverty
Enclose us keep us to ourselves
Holy saints listen to our mumbling
Listen to our prayer
Forgive us forgive us our sainthood
CHANT
We ask you Saint Clare
Enclose us keep us to ourselves
Holy saints listen to our mumblings
Listen to our prayers
Forgive us our sainthood
Catherine Labouré increase our vision
Saint Teresa give us holy insight
Give us holy love holy love
SPEAK
For we have abandoned our children
We have abandoned our parents
We have abandoned our mates
Holy saints forgive us our sainthood
CHANT
We have abandoned our children
We have abandoned our parents
We have abandoned our mates
Holy saints forgive us our sainthood
SPEAK
Sara patron of all nomads
Be with us be with us be with us
For we have relinquished the world
We are pilgrims
We are wanderers
W a n d e r e r s
Sara patron of all nomads
Pray for us
Pray for us homeless
Pray for us nameless
Always departing
Never arriving
CHANT
Pray for us always departing departing departing
Never arriving
Pray for us going on our way
From day to day
From nowhere to nowhere
Going on our way
Dame Julian of Norwich
Enlighten us
Saint Ursula teach us
Saint Eleanor Roosevelt
Show 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
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