Work Text:
As the years pass by
With hundreds of songs
playing
Over the years as I watch concrete
fall
The dust has finally settled
And I feel the western notes
Ringing their delight in my ears
The room fills with claps
When I walk across the stage
A clap.
A cheer!
A whistle!!
It fills my heart with love
But not the type of love
I seek.
The strings feels strong
The winds seem proud
The brass focus, waiting
The percussion already looking my way
Then I see Lucas
My dear
Lucas
He sits at the piano
Ready to play the first of Chopin’s piano concertos
My ring feels snug around my finger
Resting where my blood flows to my heart
My heart is full of love
But not the type
I still seek.
My orchestra looks weary but fierce
From our long tour of many weeks and months
They are ready to go home, so I’ve heard
I’m not.
I seek someone
Someone who left in silence
To spare my heart
I still seek
for that love.
I wait for the silence now
Letting the house finish their coughs
And their whispers
To die out
I sniff loudly
The first beat
I hear the piano keys
Perfect, I whisper beneath my breath
My chosen is full of talent
My dear husband
It starts fast and strong,
The others joining in with
A power that makes me shake
It reminds me…
Papa and I running to the Berlin wall,
News of the fall in the papers
I saw the western world
It was full of music I never heard
The wonder was true
The questions were truer
Where’s Katrin?
Even now
2004 years after the death of Christ
I search for my teenage days
A bead of sweat runs down
My face
As I wave my hands,
Letting the strings sing
The brass play
And the winds fly
I’m already lost
My heart beating with the intensity
I can see the concrete falling
Pieces falling at my feet
And dust stinging my eyes
With cheers and tears staining my neighbors’ faces
A ritardando
A dramatic pause
A blessing from God himself
The first movement done
My love has a smirk on his face
He knows my passion for
The auditory arts
Then he jerks his head
Pointing with no hands
To the audience
I look over, expecting a standing ovation
But it’s so much better
Soft eyes, curly hair, flowers in hand
Katrin! I scream
The audience looks on in surprise
As I stumble off the stage
I remember the fall
The tears on my Mama’s face
When she saw the oranges
My hands are thrown around Katrin,
She still smells of an old piano
And a feel a cry rise in my throat
You should finish. Katrin whispered in my ear,
Her voice deeper than what I remembered
But it sounds rich
And grown
Together. I say,
Leading her to the front
Of the beautiful orchestra
And my heart fills with love
The one I seek
The one I felt
When the fall fell
The song of freedom rang in my ears
The song of dreams
Playing forever
In my full heart.