Puccini in Tears

at La Boheme

Friday night

in a provincial town

Royal Opera House

it’s definitely not,

our fateful young lovers

a little long in the tooth

but we understand why

the singing is superb,

passion oozing from pores,

arias exquisite

a tragic denouement plays out

the final curtain falls

generous applause follows,

then something strange

catching everyone off-guard

blue-gold flags unfurl

a foreign anthem sung

a new aria for the age,

hair bristles, goose bumps

an inexplicable shiver,

we dab at our tears

applause thrice greater

louder, longer than for

Puccini’s star-crossed tale,

Humbly, we are thanked

for our support at this

most difficult of times,

the ensemble’s words

superfluous

Published by grahamrsherwood