A PUCCINI ARIA

Keyed up and jangling at the edge, after

Composing the long love duet for Butterfly,

That afternoon, after a lunch of green figs

(You were dieting}—rich and famous, you

Went for a spin in your new Stutz Bearcat

Racing car to cool off and simmer down.

Too fast on a curve, you swerved to miss a tree

And ditched, upside down, pinned beneath

The hood, your leg broken, your scalp bleeding.

Nearly asphyxiated by the fumes of gasoline,

What were your thoughts: Marcello's "Corragio,"

The Shepherd's serene song at the end of Tosca, or

(You once declared that you were always in love)

Girls' names unfolding like an aria: Susanna,

Francesca, Sofia, Concetta, Maria, Lucia,

Teresa, Bianca, Elena, Luisa, Luisa …