Marissa's Response to Bradford Work

Mark Bradford
Bag of Tricks
2009

--

Owning

“You just don’t care about my stuff!”

(Silence.)

-THUMP-

“Why do you have to go and mess it up?”

(Silence.)

-THUMP-

“Well, what the hell were you thinking?”

(More silence.)

-THUMP – THUMP –

“Next time I’ll shred up all your stupid reports and stuff them in the trash too!”

“Kayla said you were done.”

-THUMP THUMP THUMP –

“What does she know? She just wants my room.”

“It has been three years.”

“Two years, nine months, and eight days.”

-THUMP-

“You’ve been counting?”

“Yes I’ve been counting. Of course I’ve been counting. All of them.”

“I’m sorry, we really thought it was scraps.
We thought you were finished, you didn’t come back.”

“Why would I come back if all you’re going to do is throw my collection away?”

“Joseph and Brian came by,
they didn’t know what you were keeping them for.”

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

“I am keeping them.”

THUMP

“Yes.”

“Keep.”

“Yes, of course.”

THUMP THUMP

Keep keep longer and longer and ever forever
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Just scraps
THUMP THUMP THUMP

No, pieces, pieces of being right
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Scraps
THUMP THUMP

[He tries to hold them together but they slip from his fingers. He weaves them together but then one gets loose.]

“Why did you have to go and mess with my stuff?”

(Silence.)

Pieces, each a bit of energy, one for every time I got it right and some curved and
THUMP ---THUMP ---THUMP ---THUMP --- THUMP---
tied in knots and some stuck together the way my stomach felt two years, nine
THUMP ---THUMP ---THUMP ---THUMP --- THUMP---
months, and eight days ago when I was right for the last time.
THUMP ---THUMP ---THUMP ---THUMP --- THUMP---

“You are right, I should have asked you first.”

“He gave them to me, you know. Mine kept breaking.”

-THUMP-

“I know.”

-THUMP-

“Breaking”

“Breaking.”

-THUMP THUMP-

“Mine”

-THUMP-