Lew Watts

Deus ex Machina—A Play for Voices

once upon a time I never told

Dramatis Personae

Boy – wanderer, part child, part old man
Ghost – a demon who pursues the Boy
Aunt – more witch than any witch
Princess – a savior, ageless, ethereal
Bearded Man – a fisherman, who helps the Boy
Shell – a dead crustacean that comes to life

Synopsis

Act 1

We first meet the Boy in a haunted house. He tries to run away, but a Ghost pursues him. Mad with fear, the Boy is sent to an evil Aunt. One night, a Princess appears. She tells the Boy to hide inside himself. That he will be safe there. That she will send someone. A Bearded Man knocks on the Aunt’s door. Takes the Boy to a lake. Shows him beauty. The Boy returns to the Aunt. Tells her he is leaving, never to return.

news of her death throes screeching the moon

Act 2

The Boy wanders inside himself. One day, he hears a gurgling sound. The Ghost has found him, entered him, and now screams to him each night. The Princess reappears, struggles with the Ghost and pushes it into the past. She tells the Boy to forget. To leave all history behind. Teaches him magic. One day, alone by the lake, the Boy finds a Shell. He casts a spell to make the Shell speak. It tells him to sail to distant lands.

night after night sweating the siren's song

Act 3

The Boy returns, filled with sounds and rhythm. He still hears demons, but they are quieter, subdued. One night, the Bearded Man reappears. He tells the Boy to no longer fear rivers, that they are full of joy, not sorrow. The Boy wades into the river and makes his way upstream. One day, he sees the Princess sitting on a rock. She calls to him, hands him a memory, then another. Tells him it is time. To emerge. To look back with god’s grace. To remember.

happily ever after...
dressing up each lie
as gospel

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About the Author

Lew Watts is haibun co-editor of Frogpond and author of two Snapshot Press books, Tick-Tock (2019) and Eira (2023), the latter of which won a 2024 Touchstone Award and Best Book of Haibun in the HSA Merit Book Awards. He is also the co-author, with Roberta Beary and Rich Youmans, of Haibun: A Writer’s Guide (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023).

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