Excerpt from Antoinette: An Opera
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(Beginnings of ball scene)
du Motier: (bowing a bit too low) Your Highness.
Louis: Who’s this?
Marie: Gilbert du Motier. He is one
of your distinguished soldiers.
Louis: du Motier. Yes.
I think I remember you…
du Motier: The United States of Austria.
Louis: Yes. That’s it.
Wait, what?
du Motier: America. I helped
you in America.
Louis: Yes. (a bit confused)
Marie: He has been a most loyal
servant to France.
du Motier: I stand on guard
for your Highness.
Marie: Rumours of his insubordination
are not to be listened to.
du Motier: That would be
a blanket statement.
Louis: Wait. What are
we talking about?
Nursemaid: Your Highness?
Marie (handing off baby): Thank you.
du Motier: Why, hello.
Nursemaid: Milord.
Marie: Gilbert. Don’t you have somewhere to be?
((Marie as consumer))
[Marie at the Hameau Feast following the ball]
All this to my table. How much
does it take.
What I hold before me now
has travelled untold lengths.
From one pair of hands
to another to another.
All those hands
around the world.
Like a chain of hands
held all around.
This? Or this? If I choose this,
then it passes through these hands.
But if I choose that, then
that chain will light up
instead.
My hand—the choosing hand—
will be the last. I point
and one part of the world
will spring into action.
My hand is last and first.
The chain ends here
and now it enters my stomach.
Published online November 04 2015.
RAY HSU AWARD-WINNING! VISIONARY! AVANT-GARDE! MAGICIAN-ARTIST! ENTREPRENEUR! STYLE ICON! INTERNATIONAL POET-GENIUS.
He has an amazing mustache.
This bio for Ray was created by SUNNY CHAN.
This piece was published in ‘Out of Line,’ the Fall 2015 issue of CV2.
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