At Tonys, Lin-Manuel Miranda grieves Orlando victims in a moving sonnet

Lin-Manuel Miranda grieves Orlando shooting victims — (Image credit: Theo Wargo/Getty for Tony Awards Productions)

When accepting his award for Best Score at Sunday night's Tony Awards for his hit musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda informed his audience that he won't rap this acceptance speech. "I'm too old," he said. "I wrote you a sonnet instead." He started with declaring his love for his wife, Vanessa Nadal, and their son in iambic pentameter, then shifted to his craft, musing about what art can and cannot do:

We chase the melodies that seem to find usUntil they’re finished songs and start to playWhen senseless acts of tragedy remind usThat nothing here is promised, not one day. [Miranda]

"And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside," Miranda says at the end, making it clear he is referring to the deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando earlier that day. "Now fill the world with music, love, and pride."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.