Piano

Sometimes I wish your body
Was a piano so I could understand
Every chord and melody,
Though it may take me nine years
To know you as well
As my mahogany instrument.
I want to lose myself
In the flow of your voice,
As beautifully gentle as my favorite piece,
“Elegie,”
A piece performed in “a minor,”
Smooth and gentle like your skin.
I want to know your sounds,
And how you work,
And what makes you chime.
I wish your body was a piano
Because I'd put in the hours,
The mistakes,
The screwed-up songs,
The torn sheet music,
I'd chance a poetic rhythm
Played on your out-of-tune arteries
If only I could know
That so many hours of painstaking practice
Could lead me to that one
Flawless melody, where each note falls
Into place. I want to memorize
Your majors and minors,
Your flats and sharps,
Every crescendo,
And every ritard.