KEITH Murray's description of the silent operatic scene invites us to fill in the background story of the hurler of the Puccini record from the clifftop.
But it's not a sad but a defiant moment.
MADAME BUTTERFLY
He knew he was dying,
ninety-two years,
wars and lovers,
seascapes, mountain journeys,
bright moons, bird filled skies,
all coming back to him today,
standing on a cliff edge
his copy of Madame Butterfly
under his arm,
grooves naked to the wind
as if the wind would play
Puccini in the grand outdoors,
he waited, and he heard something
through the invisible
through the time disappearing,
sent the disc flying into the sea,
flapping wings,
the crashing waves
bringing him home,
the beautiful song
fresh in his memory
playing out.
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