Tosca's Tale Poem by Dermott Hayes

Tosca’s tale
of love and loss
sung aloud, forlornly
in Auschwitz,
the charnel house
of tyranny,
rang true and clear
without breath of fear,
set free by willing
and defiant spirit,
to relate the story
of love’s contentious struggle
against bitter hate
and treachery
and though
suddenly snuffed
and silenced,
its defiant message
rings true today
as in the words
of Edmund Burke,
paraphrased,
sing now
and defy
all tyrants