She tossed a flower -- Don José was lost.
She loved him, in her way. He couldn't bear
To be without her, once their stars had crossed.
He threw his simple life aside, aware
There'd be no going back, and joined her band.
Together they went thieving through the land.
And singing. And my God, they live in song.
The pois'nous Carmen, Don José her fool,
Their tale, a love spectacularly wrong.
The mornings, when the kids get up for school,
I narrate while they listen and they eat.
The trouble is, he murders her. Their pain
Will end, with Carmen dying at his feet.
It's just a little tricky to explain,
Why Don José went totally insane.
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Comments
A craftily written sonnet, DB. The first line, of course, explains the puzzle in the closing couplet. But your retelling (with the context of the kids hearing it for the first time) is precious.
"And singing. And my God, they live in song."
To have grown up with an interpreter like you
might have made the difficult clear.
It's nearly impossible to resist breaking the rules.
~R
"And singing. And my God, they live in song."
for in it I see the passion and emotion within you, DB. Wow ....... Makes me smile.
I fell in love with Carmen in college. Julia Migenes and Plácido Domingo.
Pilgrim, your word "craftily" is very flattering. And the kids - my son has told me to stop narrating it, I was getting in the way of the music. How could I possibly argue?
Muse, thanks. My starting point is just that it's loud enough to wake them up.
anna1, I hope I can make one or two difficult things clear, before they stop listening altogether. I hope they are important ones.
catch - oh dear. See, maybe if they already know THIS story, and they know it's 150 years old, that EVERYONE knows these feelings... you know?
FusunA, having read your blog, and knowing how you feel about him, I believe I can't receive a higher compliment. Thank you so much.
Sheila, wow, you've really read the story! You're right, Jose is a stalker. You know who else is? Freddy, in My Fair Lady. Here's "On the Street Where You Live":
And oh the wonderful feeling
Just to know somehow you are near
The overpowering feeling
That any second you may suddenly appear
...if you read it the wrong way, it's really creepy, isn't it.
Lea, thank you for nailing that specifically. The music, being loud enough, serves well for the mundane task of being an alarm clock, too.
trilogy, true. But you know how it goes - the weirdest subjects come up at the oddest times. I just didn't realize, when I put the opera on, that I would corner myself into trying to explain a stalker killing. I settled on "Jose was a very sick person."
Kate, OK, I admit it. Now and then I have to stop doing my dishes because the music makes me burst into tears.
vanessa, mine get hurry, hurry, hurry as well -- I just shout it over the music. And that video of Carmen is just fabulous. Me, I've been listening to Marilyn Horne. I think she's half the reason the opera puts me over the edge.
pastvoices: thanks. And so do the kids, I think.
Goodnight everyone! Oh gosh... I think everyone's already asleep.
Les Toreadors must really move things along in the morning - I can almost see them shuffled out the door to the strains of it.