I didn’t get Violetta’s attraction to Alfredo,
admittedly, he’s got a gorgeous voice, but Violetta has to pawn her jewelry
so they can live together in the country house.
Alfredo’s Daddy makes a surprise visit and gives her the bum’s rush.
Violetta doesn’t want to ruin the family name,
high-tails it back to Paris,
where she gets it on with the Baron
while Alfredo returns for a second duet and throws his gambling money at her feet—
Feh on you, he says. So here’s the thing:
Why do women fall in love with men who don’t deserve them?
Violetta is a woman who loves freedom and pleasure.
All she gets is tuberculosis, a disease of that century,
while I’m sheltering in place from Covid-19,
baking challah after taking a walk in the park,
eucalyptus with strips of bark like so many Rastafarian trees,
learned the trick of keeping my mask hanging
below my lips, pulled back to cover my nose
whenever company comes.
My bread has risen, doubled in size.
Get busy with egg wash,
sprinkle flour, poppy seeds,
cut three pieces of dough, and braid
a strand for each one of my hopes.
What you give and what you get back, only God knows.
