The Love Light

1
When great storms rage at sea,
far off coasts are lashed
by cruel waves, tempest born.
Like sullen legions they
come - to batter frail craft
in peaceful waters ---

2
---and Life
is like the Sea.

3
From vast upheavals
born of lust for world
dominion, come waves
of misery, surging on
to buffet helpless lives
  on distant shores.

4
Caressing the rock-girded
coast of Italy are
the waters of the calm
    Mediterranean.

5
Flashing blue in the sunlight,
  its plumed waves curl
about the feet of a little
     fishing village.

6
A simple folk these
-- happy children
of impulse -- dwelling
amid picturesque squalor.

7
A rising young profiteer -
      Tony.

8
Apart from the village 
  lives one whose 
love dreams are borne 
upon the wings of song.
   Giovanni.

9
His melody of love
sounds an echo in
the hearts of Maria
   and Pietro.

10
It is of the girl Angela
he sings and his songs
are sad, for he knows
that he loves in vain.

11
Sympathy.

12
The good Father Lorenzo,
   guide, friend and
    comforter of his
      tiny flock.

13
Far beyond the horizon
clouds are gathering -
sullen, sinister, menacing.

14
But the spirit of youth
 holds sway in the
  Carlotti home.

15
- where lives Angela Carlotti
and her two brothers.

	(Angela, translated,
	means angel. But,
	as her brothers say -
	'What's in a name?')

16
The elder brother Antonio
  looked with favor on
the courtship of Giovanni.

17
"I tell you, Giovanni,
if you marry Angela
 you take one fine
     cook."

18
The joy and bane of 
Angela's existence
is her younger brother
     Mario.

19
"When you marry Angela,
  we'll tell you our
system how to make her
work - like ten devils!"

20
"We flatter the poor little
       sardine --"

21
"Antonio, where is the 
   gentle Angela?"

22
"You shriveled herring,
    you struck me!"

23
"Sure, Giovanni, you stay
  for dinner. Angela,
  she's crazy for it!"

24
"You're going to give me
a piece of that chicken
  aren't you dear?"

25
"You know that chicken is 
only for Father Lorenzo!"

26
Then, Madonna mia...
 the wine began to 
   take effect!

27
"Don't let him bless
 the macaronies.
They'll get cold!"

28
"Please, Father Lorenzo,
a very long blessing
  on this happy home!"

29
Stewed chicken.

30
And then the storm broke
A tidal wave of war
engulfed humanity,
sweeping to destruction
the splendid manhood
  of the world.

31
To part is to
die a little.

32
Silent months have passed
with no word from the
soldier brother, Antonio.
But life still exacted its
duties and youth danced
   its vibrant way.

33
"No brother makes his sister
a present - for nothing!"

34
"Soldiers are leaving today--"

35
"You are such a little 
boy. Please to wait 
for another year."

36
"The courier has just
  brought word of
the death of another
brave village boy."

37
"Angela's brother,
    Antonio ...
     killed!"

38
"When I think, it may
   be a long time
before I'll be digging
out your ears again."

39
"Pig! You said it was 
yesterday that you 
    washed!"

40
"You, who love Angela,
  must be the one
to comfort her in her
    sorrow."

41
"Goodbye, kids!
  See you in
 the spring!"

42
"Remember what you 
promised about your 
  underclothes."

43
"Goodbye, my little
    sardine..."

44
"Antonio!"

45
"Mario must not go!......
They will kill him too!"

46
The harsh roll of 
far off battle drums 
summons Giovanni.

47
"... Send Mario and
Giovanni home without
too many wounds, to
Thine obedient servant,
Angela Carlotti."

48
WOMAN'S PART IN WAR
No martial music hers,
No joys of battle won;

But waiting, dreading,--
Her frail shoulders bent to carry on
   man's unfinished tasks;
Silent, patient toiler -- anguish torn,--
Who shall say that she is not
   the bravest soldier of them all?

49
Angela has taken Giovanni's 
  place as keeper of the 
lighthouse. Returning home
after the night watch.....

50
"You speak so funny my 
  language. Where do 
  you come from, eh?"

51
"I - am an American!"

52
"Never before have I 
met the breed...
it is very nice."

53
"Why, Mr. American,
are you so afraid?"

54
"Because..."

55
"... I am a deserter!"

56
"You have, perhaps,
a good excuse
for this deserting?"

57
"We were having a wild
shore-leave at Genoa,
when our ship pulled out
and left us. As our only
chance we hired a tug
to catch her; then we
ran into this storm --"

58
--and Angela, believing
Joseph, the American,
hid him in her home
until he could return
in safety to his ship.

59
"Would he like me better
  if I were romantic?"

60
Or would he prefer 
  one of those 
kittenish girls?

61
"No, I shall be cold 
  and haughty like 
the ladies of Rome!"

62
"Yes -- I shall
  refuse him!"

63
"I--I was just polishing
       the pan."

64
"I though I heard 
   voices - -
 Are you alone?"

65
"I must get away from here.
   Every hour I stay
makes it more dangerous!"

66
"Mario! He's only my 
little baby brother."

67
Then, as Joseph lingered,
  Angela knew that
the love which sleeps
in every woman's heart,
had at last awakened.

68
"You will perhaps--
    miss me?"

69
"In our country it is
the pleasant custom
to believe that a kiss
will cure any pain!"

70
"Father Lorenzo would
never allow this!"

71
"But then, you don't know
    Father Lorenzo!"

72
One by one the broken men
of the village returned.
Came Pietro, once so strong
     and brave...

73
"This stranger that you
wish to marry in secret.
Are you sure, my child,
  that you love him?"

74
"It must be love, 
Father Lorenzo.
I suffer so much
the sweet pain of
  happiness."

75
After their secret marriage.

76
"Don't forget, Angela,
  our love signal
  -- at midnight!"

77
And at midnight, Angela
flashed her "I love you"
message across the waters
to the waiting Joseph.

78
"I..."

79
"...love..."

80
"...you."

81
Angela's code of love carries
a message of destruction
in Joseph's code of war.

82
Fearing that her continued 
absence from the village
might arouse suspicion,
Angela called upon Maria
and Pietro the following
     afternoon.

83
"On an enemy's knife ...
Italian blood!"

84
"'Gott Mitt Uns!'
   That, Angela,
is their blasphemous
    prayer."

85
"A boat ... bringing home
  wounded soldiers,
was sunk by an enemy
submarine last night ...
   at midnight!"

86
Joseph had chosen this night
to carry out his plans
     of escape.

87
"Chocolate will be 
all I dare carry.
I can live on that
for several days."

88
"Tony is the only one 
who has any. If I ask
for more than the ration
  it would make him
suspicious. But I know
where he hides it!"

89
"A thief in this village
   means a stranger!"

90
"A stranger is an enemy!
  Perhaps -- a spy!"

91
"Let the dog follow
    the scent!"

92
"Gott---"

93
"Gott.. Mitt Uns!"

94
"You ... a German!"

95
"Angela, I am an enemy
   of your country,
but not a traitor to you."

96
"You can't hate me,
Angela, for serving 
my own country. It
is every man's duty."

97
"Why do you leave your
work at the lighthouse
and come to the village
-- like a thief?"

98
"You sheep, do you think
I steal chocolate for
my own greedy self?"

99
"I had nothing to send
my little brother Mario."

100
"It's a lie! She knows that 
    Mario is dead!"

101
"You devil! Father Lorenzo
    was to tell her!"

102
"Mario was on the boat 
that was sunk last night."

103
"I've not long to live,
Angela, forgive me---
the fever of this war has
turned us into beasts."

104
"The boat!"

105
"The lighthouse!"

106
"My love signal 
 to Josepho!"

107
"I have lied to you!
 Betrayed you! I
have been hiding and
protecting an enemy
of our country...
     a spy!"

108
"Angela, are you telling us
        the truth?"

109
"Swear to me, Pietro,
that you will not
   kill him!"

110
"My little brother Mario
-- you've killed him!
You used my love signals
to send him to his death!"

111
To Angela a child was born
and they named it Dolora
--which means sorrow.

112
For months Angela's mind 
lay sleeping, -- stunned
by successive shocks of
sorrow --- innocent victim
of a far off conflict.

113
"Have I - still -
a little baby?"

114
Maria, now a widow,
had lost her little
son, And they had
laid Angela's girl baby
upon her sorrowing
  mother breast.

115
"Don't take her away
from me! Tell Angela
that her child is dead!
She's crazy! She'll never
       know!"

116
The miracle of babyhood
kept Angela's faith serene
-- and her hands busy.

117
To Angela's tortured brain,
there was healing in
her baby's fingers.

118
Unceasing wonder 
that so much joy
should be given to
one so humble.

119
Caught in the swirl of
war's hysteria, driven 
to distraction by loss of
husband and child, Maria
conceives a cruel scheme.

120
"Little mother! I think
we've both a right to
puff out our feathers!"

121
"Angela still insane!
You may keep the 
child until we have
seen poor Angela."

122
Distraught -- Angela
came to the convent,
seeking her baby there.

123
"I know, sister Lucia,
you think I'm crazy.
   But I'm not!"

124
The sister is convinced
that Angela is unfit
to care for the child.

125
In this little village,
not even the echoes
of the battlefield.. yet
how War crucifies the
innocent and the helpless.

126
"Giovanni!"

127
"At first ... Oh, God ...
  I prayed to die!"

128
"Then ... I rushed to see
the flowers and the trees ...
and I struck against things
-- like a drunken man!"

129
"Oh, my poor Giovanni,
  you will see them 
again ... through my eyes ..."

130
"Feel the sunset, Giovanni.
  It is warm and golden."

131
"Your hair was golden 
in the sunlight, Angela."

132
"See, Giovanni,
the birds are
singing to make
our hearts glad."

133
"Do you remember 
  how I always
thought you sang
like the lark!"

134
"And Mario said my voice
was like a pip-squeak!"

135
"You see, we are going to 
be happy, aren't we, 
   Giovanni?"

136
Empty months dragged by --
Angela's mother-heart
ached with longing for the
baby they had hidden from
her in the home of Maria.

137
"He's blind - but Angela's
  teached him to see
 with his finger tips!"

138
"Hey, there, you
little magpies!
I can see you
talking about me!"

139
An outcast from the villa-
gers, Angela devoted
her life to the mothering
of Giovanni. One morning,
coming from her hopeless
pilgrimage to the convent
where she believed her
child was harbored ...

140
"Oh, the baby!"

141
"Poor Pietro's son!"

142
"I have..."

143
"I had a little baby -
  a - little girl!"

144
Then through the Shadows
of the past came stark
remembrance---Maria's child
       had died.

145
"Oh, Giovanni, I saw
   my own baby --
and I didn't know her."

146
That afternoon, Maria,
terror-stricken, sought
  advice from Tony.

147
"She will remember 
that my baby died.
   And then ..."

148
"We are just sailing for 
   Genoa. Why not
run away from Angela?"

149
"Tony, I'll go with you
     to Genoa!"

150
"Marry with me, and
  they'll let you
bring the baby home."

151
"You are one crazy fool 
to sail into this storm!"

152
"I know, Beppo, but
adventure is life!"

153
During the dark hours
the storm whips itself
    to fury.

154
Angela's light - the
 one guardian of the 
rocky shore - is failing.

155
"The main stays have
  been broken. And
the wind is driving us
 toward the rocks."

156
"I'm afraid, Beppo, 
 we cannot fix
  the light."

157
"It's no use - the light 
        is dead!"

158
"I told Tony he was crazy 
to sail into this storm.
And to take Maria with him!"

159
"My God, Beppo,
it's my baby!"

160
"God ... please, please
tell me what to do
to save my baby!"

161
Angela's home becomes
a beacon light to
save her child.

162
"They are close to the shore!
   We can reach them!"

163
  A sullen dawn 
  watched their 
efforts at rescue.

164
After Angela's marriage to
Giovanni they sought
the harbour of his home.

165
"My two little children--"

166
"Googuggeegappapanaaa..."

167
"Why! She's saying - 'papa'!"

168
"Oh, no, she's saying - 'mama'!"

169
"Blop!" [inverted text]

170
"There! It is papa!"

THE END