We lived happily during the war
Deaf Republic : Dramatis personae
Act one : The Townspeople Tell the Story of Sonya and Alfonso. Gunshot : As soldiers march, Alfonso covers the boy's face with a newspaper ; Alfonso, in snow ; Deafness, an insurgency, begins ; Alfonso stands answerable ; That map of bone and opened valves ; The townspeople circle the boy's body ; Of weddings before the war ; Still newlyweds ; Soldiers aim at us ; Checkpoints ; Before the war, we made a child ; As soldiers choke the stairwell ; 4 a.m. bombardment ; Arrival ; Lullaby ; Question ; While the child sleeps, Sonya undresses ; A Cigarette ; A dog sniffs ; What we cannot hear ; Central Square ; A widower ; For his wife ; I, this body ; Her dresses ; Elegy ; Above blue tin roofs, deafness ; A city like a guillotine shivers on its way to the neck ; In the bright sleeve of the sky ; To live ; The townspeople watch them take Alfonso ; Away ; Eulogy ; Question ; Such is the story made of stubbornness and a little air
Act two : The Townspeople Tell the Story of Momma Galya. Townspeople speak of Galya on her green bicycle : When Momma Galya first protested ; A bundle of laundry ; What are days ; Galya whispers, as Anushka nuzzles ; Galya's puppeteers ; In Bombardment, Galya ; The little bundles ; Galya's toast ; Theater nights ; And while puppeteers are arrested ; Soldiers don't like looking foolish ; Search patrols ; Lullaby ; Firing squad ; Question ; Yet, I am ; The trial ; Pursued by the men of Vasenka ; Anonymous ; And yet, on some nights ; In a time of peace.
