Hide And Seek (A One-Act Tragicomedy) Poem by Raj Arumugam

(Enter IT, enthusiastic. Faces audience and looks at audience happily, and then speaks directly to audience.)

IT: OK. You want to play?
OK - I’m IT.
I’ll be blind a while
and I'll count
and you go hide. OK?
Yippee!

(IT closes eyes and places hands over eyes and counts.)

IT: One..two...
Go hide!
Three...four...five...
I’m IT!
Six...seven..eight...nine...
Oh, this is fun...
Aaandddd - Ten!
I’m IT and I’m coming!

(IT takes hands off eyes, opens eyes and looks about. IT looks with enthusiasm.)

IT: Oh...where are you?
I’m IT and I search
and I find you nowhere...

OK...I’ll search again...

I search over hills and in parks
I look behind bush and below benches
but you are nowhere to be found.

OK...I’ll search again...

(IT looks about on stage, pretending to climb over a hill, or a tree, and so forth...looking...searching...)

(Enter THAT.
THAT observes IT searching, for some time - and then speaks.)

THAT: What are you doing?

IT: Who, me?

THAT: Yes, you.
There’s no one else here.
So what are you doing?




IT (coming close to THAT) : I’m searching. I’m IT
and I’m at play, you see.
You know - hide and seek.
I’m looking.

THAT: I see. And your name?

IT: They call me Life.

(Silence)

IT: And your name?

THAT: They call me Death.

(Silence.)

Life: I suppose we should embrace.

Death: Yes, we should. Come closer.

(Life moves forward, closer to Death, and they embrace.)


Death: That is nice and warm.

Life: That is bloody cold!

Death: Hug me hard
Till we are one.

Life: Like dissolving into each other?

Death: Yes - like two become one.
That sort of imagery, that manner of speech.
Those delightful cliches.

Life: Should we turn off the lights then?

Death: Yes, we should.
It’s no longer child’s play, is it?

Life: No. It’s no longer child’s play;
There’s another 4-letter word for play
One could use - but play will do.

Death: Yes. So let’s turn off the lights.

(Lights fade.)

Life: Maybe we should draw the curtains as well?

Death: Yes, we should. (Shouts) CURTAINS!


(End. Stage is in complete darkness. Curtain.)