All I ask is room to speak,
An acknowledgment,
A pause you grant
To listen. 

I've been most fortunate in mother-in-laws.
One a knitter
Of Simple throws
Shorn of glitter.

Characters
Dislodge compulsions
For this lone night. 

The junction—
Thought with matter
Effortless connection

To take each on a journey
To whatever lands they wish.

Another pen,
Another pad,
Tokens from a nighttime’s stay,

There's no alternative to effort,
Focus, relentless trying,
For to cease like Rossini
Is the silence of early dying.

One final Adriana
One more to demonstrate, 
One more to teach.

My most neurotic Parsifal,
Chosen without a clue.
He neuterized his tenor voice,
Forgot what males might do.

My first Aida,
You graced a house lamented and lost.
Forma divina,
You sang a slave who would not be crossed.