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in ahospital bed. He drifts in and out ofconsciousness, delirious with pain. His right leghas been amputated due to amalignancy.
    At his beside sits his sister, ISABELLE RIMBAUD , thirty-one years old. The bed issurrounded by candles, flickering in theotherwise darkenedroom.
    ARTHUR
    Tell them, tell them . . . say that I am entirely paralyzed, yes,and soIwishtoembark early. PleaseletmeknowatwhattimeIshould be carried onboard.
    ISABELLE
    My poor Arthur, it’s impossible for you to travel. You can’t be moved.
    ARTHUR
    I’llreturnto Harar, toDjami,he’llbewaiting.I’llreturnwithlimbs ofsteel,darkskinandfuriouseyes.Withthismask,peoplewill think I am of a strongrace.
    ISABELLE
    Forget Djami, forget him. I’m here, Isabelle, your sister. Thinkof me, of our mother, the ones who love youmost.
    ARTHUR
    My name carved in stone at Luxor, only the wind and sand can erase it. Tell Djami I am coming, I will see him again soon. My one friend, my only friend.
    ISABELLE
    Djamicannothelpyou,Arthur.Thatboyisfarfromhere,inAbyssinia. Probablydead.
    ARTHUR
    Send him money, three thousand francs. Tell him his master,who loves him, begs he make wise use of this sum, that he invest itprudently in an enterprise sure to realize a profit. Tell him not tobe idle. His wife and child mustprosper.
    ISABELLE
    Arthur, pray. ForgetAfrica.
    ARTHUR
    DjamiandI...twoghosts...slippingthroughthesubtle air. Sons of the sun.
    ISABELLE
    AlltheyearsawayfromFrance,broilingintheheat,yourbrainwas affected.
    ARTHUR
    Capsule rifles, two thousand-forty at fifteen Marie Thérèse dollars each. Sixty thousand Remington cartridges at sixty dollars the thousand. Tools of various kinds valued at five thousand-eight hundred dollars. Total value of caravan forty thousand. Fifty days to Menelek, king to pay us on arrival. We leave from Tadjoura. Ivory, musk, gold. The Choans would have our testicles! French testicles. Harar to Antotto, twenty days. Avoid Dankalis, evil savages. Sixty thousand dollars, exchange at Aden, 4.3 francs, equals 258,000 francs. Coffee or slaves. Won’t take Egyptian piasters. Caravans form at Djibouti. Did I marry the Somali girl? She went back, Djami sent her away. Not my orders. Find Djami, quick! My leg, must rest my leg before meeting the Emir. Turks and cannons.
    ISABELLE
    (praying)
    Oh Lord, I weep! Lord, soften his agony. Help him to bear his cross. Have pity on my brother, his poor soul that writhes on earth. Have pity and take him, oh Lord. You who are so good, so kind.
    ARTHUR
    The hyenas laugh at us. Their laughing keeps me awake. Smelling my wound. Poetry poured from the open wound, words spilled until there was nothing left. Emptied, I fled. Djami, your warmth. She is far off, master, to BarAbir. Far, far. Cannot go there with accounts due. The business. Cheated by Menelek, cunning, cunning. Le Bosphore Egyptien, my case. Ragged, dirty rags, no way for a French citizen. Dead before my time, the late Arthur Rimbaud. I have been bitten by life before and survived. Two terrible years and nothing to show.
    ISABELLE
    Arthur, do you know me? Do you know your sister, youryoungest sister, Isabelle? Can you feel my strength, my love? The love ofthe Lord that flows throughme.
    ARTHUR
    I see you, my angel. My angel ofhappiness.
    ISABELLE
    Oh,yes! Yes, Arthur!Iam! Your angel.Oh,thankyou,Lord,for bringing my brother home before . . . before. . ..
    ARTHUR
    Before his death. The death of the late ArthurRimbaud.
    ISABELLE
    No, perhaps it is possible that you may live! The Lord ismerciful, it’s in His power to heal.
    ARTHUR
    We’ll walk then, you and I, around Harar, when my new leg isattached, my artificial limb. You won’t believe the colors! AndAden, we’ll journey to Aden. I can arrange things there, arms forthe South. Tell Djami, my man, my one brother under the sun, Iam on my way! I’m coming with snow on my scarf, flowers fromthe Ardennes,things he’s neverseen! Wake mebeforetheharborburns. It