Lin-Manuel Miranda won the Tony for Best Original Score Sunday night and, in lieu of an acceptance speech, delivered a moving sonnet written for his wife, Vanessa Nadal. Well, sort of a sonnet, anyway—it’s at least a line too long, but odds are you’ll be too busy wiping dust from your eyes to notice. Here’s our best guess at a transcription:
My wife’s the reason anything gets done,
She nudges me towards promise by degrees.
She is a perfect symphony of one,
Our son is her most beautiful reprise.
We chase the melodies that seem to find us,
Until they’re finished songs and start to play.
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us,
That nothing here is promised. Not one day.
The show is proof that history remembers
We lived through times when hate and fear seemed stronger.
We rise and fall. And light from dying embers,
Remembrances that hope and love last longer.
And love [is love is love is love is love is love is love is love] cannot be killed or swept aside.
I sing that as a symphony, Eliza tells her story,
Now fill the world with music, love, and pride.
Miranda is up for more awards before the night is over, so here’s hoping he’s got a villanelle in his back pocket.
