I was a cheater,
A man who let lyrics
Lie to one instrument
To beat on another,
Singing sweet lies of
Deceit and guise
Most people bleed for music
But I played music that bled
A stricken symphony of
Lives strung out on piano strings
Beaten to the will of my hammer;
I’d press the buttons of the keyboard
As it’s falling to break upon another
Set of white keys:
A smiling face
A timorous tone
From a bereft bass rift left
Her foot tapping my tune.
But the music stopped
The song ended.
I was left with
The echoes of a fading song.
A distant dance
Bounced in time to my
Melodic melancholy.
My fears cleared,
Letting those constricting chords
Recede from my neck.