his fingers press into the keys
and you imagine his fingerprints
outlined, imprinted into the white, the black
then they lift so quickly,
they sweep the image away
if it ever existed
but he looks down too,
at his hands, his keys
which makes you certain they exist
but only he can see
the little portraits
and the words they hide
words you do not know
words you can only know
if you follow his lips close enough
memorize every movement
the bottom barely whispering against the top
with a hint, an illusion, of a sound
he glances up then
his lips freeze, the last line unsung
but the final note lingers long enough
to weave into being everything it could have told
its resonance lines, melds to your insides, outsides
leaving you smoldering in his exposed aftermath
my Mr. Piano Man
"Sing us a song...the piano man!" Great poem. I like how you broke with convention and had the first letter in small case instead of upper case. In fact, the only letters that are capitalized and thus significant are M and P
ReplyDeleteI really have no idea what you're talking about with the song. XD I may have to go look it up now.
DeleteI actually just don't like the way capitals look at the beginning of lines so I don't use them that often anymore. I use capitals sparingly so that they do indeed contain some significance.
I thought of the same song as Michael - which I guess gave the poem a melancholy air, even though the words didn't seem that way to me. Just shows that outside influences can have an effect on us when we read.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem, Brooke.
Hey, that's fine. I kind of pictured it with a bit of a melancholy feel. Or perhaps a more serious one. Yes, I think serious is a bit of a better word.
DeleteThank you, Sarah. ^^
Beautiful! As a piano player, this speaks to me. I love how when I sit down to play something, my brain "clicks" into the right gear for that piece, and it's like my fingers follow this invisible pattern across the keys. ('Cause I don't often sight read (naughty me). I tend to memorize pieces instead!)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that I got the feelings right enough to speak to an actual piano player. ^^ I think memorizing things is actually more commendable. You're taking the time to make sure it sticks with you. And you loved it enough to do that.
Delete