"The Birth of Wonder" is a 12-minute audio casette read by Actress Ardyth Gilbertson and accompanied by musician/composer Seth Austen on guitar. They both had recently lost a loved one when they recorded the following script written by Jim Surkamp.
EXCUSE ME? I WASN'T LOOKING AT YOU. I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR ICE CREAM CONE.
YOU MAKE ME LAUGH. I FALL THRU A CRACK IN HEAVEN.
I LOVE THE WAY YOU LISTEN. I BLOSSOM WHEN YOU LISTEN. YOU BECOME
MY ROOT, WHILE I SOAR.
I NO LONGER LISTEN TO THE KING. HE'S AFRAID TO GET HIS ROOTS
DIRTY. POOR KING.
HE WONT KNOW WHAT LIFE IS TILL IT'S TOO LATE, SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE
JEWELS AND FOOLS.
LIFE IS A CONSTELLATION OF GOALS AND HEAVENS CHANGE, THAT WE MAY
KNOW, THERE IS A HIGHER HEAVEN AND A HIGHER CONSTELLATION OF
HIGHER GOALS BEHIND THESE HEAVENS, AND BEHIND THE HIGHER HEAVEN
YET A HIGHER, HIGHER HEAVEN AND YET A HIGHER CONSTELLATION OF
HIGHER GOALS!
INNOCENT BELIEVING IS JUST THAT - EVERYTHING. A PEBBLE FALLS FROM
ON HIGH AND MAKES THE GREATEST RINGS. MY SIGNATURE NAME AND GIFT FOR YOU.
MY HEART REMEMBERS JUST WHAT I NEED.
NOW GET THIS:
I AM NOT THE WASHERWOMAN IN THE THEATER ANYMORE. THE EMPTY STAGE BEGS FOR ME. SO I SING AN ARIA! AAAAHHHHHHH. . .I THREW AWAY MY BUCKET AND MOP TOO!
LOVE ME, AND DESTROY MY GREED, SO I WILL SOAR AGAIN AND ENCIRCLE THE SUN.
LOVE IS THE FIRST AND LAST. LOVE IS BORN NOT MADE. LOVE IS ALL AROUND AND THERE FOR THE GIVING. LOVE YOU BE, LOVE YOU DO, DO-BE-DO-BE-DO-BE-DO.
IT'S SO SIMPLE NO WORDS CAN HOLD IT CAPTIVE!
WHEN I SURRENDER, I AM HEALED. FANCY THAT!
I HAVE TEARS OF MORAL PRAISE WHEN I FIND A DROP OF WATER STILL IN
A DESERT OF INDIFFERENCE.
YOU AND I ARE TO TELL THE TRUTH THE YOUNG FEEL BUT CANNOT NAME.
ITS SO SIMPLE NO WORDS CAN HOLD IT CAPTIVE RIGHT.
I DONT LIKE BIG, BIG DON'T SEE THE BEGININGS. BIG DON'T SEE THE TINY SEEDS BIG DON'T SEE LOVE IN THE WIND.
WANDERING MYSTERY, WANDERING POEM, FRUIT ON TREES, FALLING RAIN
FEEDS FEEDS, WANDERING MYSTERY, WANDERING POEM.
(PAUSE IN MUSIC AND VOICE)
MY SILVER THREADS ARE BROKEN. I AM GUIDED BY SUGGESTION
I DONT ARGUE. WORDS - WORDS, SHMERDS
HEY! YOU JUST SMUDGED MY ARMOR! THAT HURT! I GUESS I GROWL
SOMETIMES, BUT I MEAN TO HUM. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
LIFE IS MOMENTS. HENCE SHARP TURNS. LIfE IS MOMENTUM, ALLLLL A-BOARD!!
A CHILD IN AN ENDLESS SUMMER; THERE I'LL ALWAYS BE.
I BLEND WITH THE SLOW, QUIET HUMBLE FLOW OF HUMANITY.
MY EX-FRIEND THE KING IS STARVING ON THE MOUNTAIN. OH WELL.
BEYOND THE RAINDROPS ON THE WINDOW PANE YOU CAN SEE A GREEN FOREST ON BLUE. . . FOR YOU.
SPINNING, SPINNING, SPINNING. . . MULTIPLYING FOREVER IN JOY. . .
JOY IS TRUELY THE GREATEST THOUGHT, NAKED OF EXPLANATION. JOY - OH
BOY!
JAKE, THE KING'S KID, BOUGHT STUFF WITH HIS BREAD, BUILT A BARRICADE
AND WAITED FOR DEATH TO COME. . .TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK
DULLSVILLE, MELVILLE, . .DEADSVILLE.
SPONTANEITY IS THE OPEN GATE TO GOD'S PLACE.
MY HEART IS WHERE GOD DROPS A LOG ON THE FIRE.
MY WINDY THOUGHTS ARE SHAPING A CASTLE ON A BEACH SOMEWHERE.
NATURE BUILDS AND LEVELS EMPIRES ALL THETIME, YOU KNOW.
YOUR CAGE OF THORNS MAKES ME REAL NERVOUS. I TAKE A DEEP BREATH. . .
AHHHHH!
YOU ARE A SEA, AND WITH A PEN, A BRUSH, A SONG, A PRAYER, A LAUGH,
OR A DANCE, YOU WILL FLOW ALL DAY AS SURE AS YOU ARE LIVING.
I AM A PERFECT, STARRY HEAVEN, WATCHING ARMADAS OF MOOD, COME AND
GO. . .MY LITTLE SHOW.
GIVE ME THE CLARITY OF YOUR BEING. LISTEN TO ME, RESPOND, LIVE WITH ME INSIDE THE BOUNDS OF CONVERSATION. . .BE BORN WITH ME. . .FORESEE MY EMERGING DOUBT. COMPLIMENT ME.
SPEAK TO MY HIGHER SELF, AND I'LL BRING YOUR UNKNOWN INTO THE LIGHT BEOFRE I LEAVE.
LOVE IS VAGUE, HUH?. . .NO. I SAID LOVE. . .YEH, LIFE IS VAGUE, TOO.
LIFE IS THE DANCER DISCOVERING HER FEET, THE PAINTER DISCOVERING
THERE'S FRUIT AT THE END OF THE LIMB.
I'LL BRING YOUR UNKNOWN INTO THE LIGHT, BEFORE I LEAVE. I BRING
YOUR UNKNOWN INTO THE LIGHT, THAT IT MAY BE KNOWN AND YOUR FEARS
DIE.
YOUR GRIEF SHALL RELAX INTO WISDOM IN MY HOUSE, FRIEND; I
HAVE SET A ROOM FOR YOU WHERE YOUR GRIEF CAN RELAX INTO WISDOM.
GOOD NIGHT, SWEET PRINCE. SLEEP WELL, SWEET PRINCESS.
NIGHT COMES. I AM YOUR STARRY CANOPY FOREVER, AND FOREVER, AND
FOREVER.
FEAR NOT. LOVE ALWAYS.
