"Sober"
By Levi West
I fell asleep last night
No achievement to a common man
Last night was the first night in months, maybe years, that sleep quietly dragged me into a peaceful slumber
There was no spiral, no spinning mind, no hellish fall into a night scape accompanied by evil dreams
Last night I forgot to medicate my mind
No bottle touched my lips
No pills were washed down by a stale cup of water
Permanently residing on my bedside table
Last night I dreamt
I had vivid dreams, happy dreams
I felt held by joy and happiness
I felt love
I dreamt that I looked into your eyes once again
Flooded by the memories and reasons I fell in love with you
The reasons I chose to live
This morning I woke up
A cold morning draft let itself into my room
Like a thief here to rob my possessions it stole those dreams from me
Stale air reeked as if my house had stood undisturbed for centuries
This morning I woke up
I was alone
Hungover from sobriety
I reached over for a sip from that stale water glass
And decided that sober night of sleep
Would be my last
Levi West is a Marine Corps Infantryman, photographer, musician, and writer. You can follow him here. Explore his photography here.
This week on the Savage Wonder Podcast…
As the Producing Director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Jon Jory directed over 125 plays and produced over 1,000 during his 32-year tenure. He conceived the internationally lauded Humana Festival of New American Plays, the SHORTS Festival, and the Brown-Forman Classics-in-Context Festival. He was also the Artistic Founding Director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, and he has been inducted in New York's Theatre Hall of Fame.
Mr. Jory has directed professionally in nine nations, and in the United States has directed productions at many regional theatres including Washington's Arena Stage, San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, Hartford Stage, the McCarter in Princeton, Guthrie Theatre, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has received the National Theatre Conference Award and ATA Distinguished Career Award. For his commitment to new plays, he has received the Margo Jones Award twice, the Shubert Foundation's James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, Carnegie Mellon's Commitment to Playwriting Award, and the Special Tony Award for Achievement in Regional Theatre. He currently teaches acting and directing at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design.
Folks - this is the show you’ve been waiting all season to see.
Starting this Saturday night, we launch The 39 Steps, a parody of the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. This play includes all the suspense of a civilian becoming mistakenly caught up in a spy ring, but with the hilarity of 4 actors taking on all 150 parts —sometimes even simultaneously — all while inserting references and puns to several famous Hitchcock films. Winner of the 2008 Tony for Best Play, the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, and the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.
It’s a great show, but we’re making it even more special. How do you pull off train scenes, car chases, fights, and jumping off a bridge when you’re doing a staged reading in a parlor? SOUND EFFECTS. That’s right, we’re introducing all LIVE sound effects - it’s the kind of variety act experience you just can’t get anywhere else. You don’t want to miss this.
As always, you’re welcome to show up and hope for a cancellation. But if you really want to see the show, why not book now and save yourself the uncertainty?
Awesome!!!!!!!!!