Grand Passion

My father heard opera
with his whole body.
Working around the house
relaxing on the porch
taking out the garbage
he hummed and whistled arias
and one-sided duets.
In the car, at top speed
he conducted overtures and choruses
with both hands off the wheel. 

Pompous prelates
ninth-inning Yankee disasters
and "fallen-away Catholics"
could reduce him to an angry crank.
But all irritation vanished when
the voice of Lily Pons or Pavarotti
took command of his soul. 

It made me proud to wait with him
on line for Standing Room
where he regaled the young from Julliard
with tales of the glorious "old Met"
where Caruso, Melchior, and Galacurcci
dropped pure high notes into the balcony
without the aid of a microphone. 

Mimi, Aida, Cio-Cio San—
no matter the name—
the face that love sang to
was always the same.
The day my mother died
its music stopped
and a new opera began. 

Entombed in silence, he listened alone
waiting for death to roll back the stone.

—Presence 2018

Sister Elizabeth Michael Boyle, O.P., was a Dominican Sister of Caldwell, New Jersey, for 76 years.  She received an M.A. in English from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and a Ph.D. in literature from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.  She was professor emerita of English at Caldwell University, where she taught for many years, inspiring generations of students.
          A published author and poet, Sister Elizabeth Michael published two award-winning volumes combining poetry and prose: Preaching the Poetry of the Gospels (The Liturgical Press, 2003) and Science as Sacred Metaphor (The Liturgical Press, 2006), plus a volume of verse, The View from the Ruin: Images for a Dialog of Faith with Doubt (Northstar Press, 2011).  She was a member of the Academy of American Poets and the 2010 recipient of the Fra Angelico Award from the Dominican Institute for the Arts.
For many years, Sister Elizabeth Michael hosted a poetry writers group called the Tower Poets who met monthly to share and critique each other’s work. She also served on the leadership team for the Caldwell Dominican community and acted as communications director.