Megan Lohne
Sitting Shiva
We sat Shiva together once, You and I – Our legs pressed against each other. My coat, a poor excuse – fur – dead animals on the trim. Matted and berated. The first time I've seen you in dress pants. And we sit – Solemnly. We are grown children. Pretending at maturity. Still, the chubby nooks of our faces present. We are so intent on stiff upper lips. To be artistic about the dying – I recite to you Emily Dickinson under my breath. Carriages to heaven – A beautiful suggestion. The rope is still fresh in our minds, The look of stiff, limp dangling. Like in the movies. This is not the movies. This is a home. This is reality. We will not speak much longer – With the death on our hands. Like atoms spinning off we evaporate, No known semblance of the other past this time. Years later we will speak – Remembering mostly this moment. "How have you changed?" My back does not stand straight anymore. I do not feel hope so openly – As if I was expecting certain trends to work. I am darker, under my eyes. I am worn. A used coat. He is happy mostly – With the exception of this “Do you remember?” He does. I do. We do.
Megan Lohne's plays have been read, workshopped and produced at The New School For Drama, The American Globe Theatre’s Fifteen Minute Play Festival, The Creative Place Theatre, The Chernuchin Theatre, The American College Theatre Festival Region II, Adelphi University, The Algonquin Theatre’s One-Act Play Festival, The Sargent Theater and with The Emerging Artists Theater Illuminating Artists Series One Woman Standing Festival. She has a BFA in acting from Adelphi University and an MFA in playwriting from The New School For Drama. She was a member of the 2007 Young Writers’ Programme at The Royal Court Theatre and is a member of The Dramatists Guild. www.meganlohne.wordpress.com
