About Opera

An image of articulateness is what it is | Isn’t this how we’ve always longed to talk?

(William Meredith)

If you don’t like theatre, you won’t like opera.

If you don’t care for vibrato, pick another genre.

If passion isn’t your thing, then avoid Standing Room Only.

If you open with abandon, and take in the arias like new lovers;

Drink this lyric ambrosia like wine, and Dionysus

may pierce your core. If you’ve had enough of Love

or don’t have time for Death, opera will unsettle you.

Be sure to miss La Bohème and Rodolfo’s primal cry

as Mimi dies. Keep away from King Philip, whose pain

sounds like a sonic depth-charge across Don Carlo.

Don’t give Aida a chance if you want to leave intact.

If you like your terrestrial life as it is, you don’t need

Butterfly, Isolde or any coloratura Queen of the Night.

Stay home. Play it safe. Watch TV. Sleep tight.

___

This poem, begun a couple of years ago, is the "finale" for my participation in Tupelo Press's 30/30 Project. I share it in memory of a beloved and generous friend, Shiela Strauss, and in honor of her husband, Maury. Zichronam liv'rachah. May her memory be for a blessing.

Thanks for reading, and if you are able to support new poetry, please do. I'll be in your debt.

Seriously. Contact me for details.