An Ode To Piano

I see you,
standing there in the far corner of the living room.
Your sleek black shell glinting
under the lamp next to you.

I see you,
Upright,
Alone.
New, yet old.
Glorious despite the ten years of use.

You’ve seen me.
You’ve seen my bad days.
The days where I yelled,
I cried and screamed.
The days where I kicked you in frustration,
bit your black keys in rage,
slammed your white keys in pain.
The days I hated you for existing.
You stood there.
And waited.
Took the tempest and waited for it to pass.

You’ve seen me.
You’ve seen my good days.
The days I smiled,
Cried of happiness.
Seen me play Romantic songs with love.
Felt my fingers caress each note,
Drift over the whites and blacks,
tumbling, twisting, fluttering,
Two butterflies,
swirling higher into the air.
Seen me play Contemporary songs with vigor.
Two falcons,
spearing down onto the notes,
drawing the music from deep within your core.
You’ve seen me play the scales with determination.
Playing the same phrase over and over,
fingers precise as a violinists’.
Dolphins swimming,
each flick of their tail a note hit.
Each dive to the depths of the sea,
an octatonic scale rolling through.
Each swim to the surface,
a chromatic scale climbing upwards.
You stood there,
and waited.
Sang the notes and waited for the next.

I see you:
Strange as you are.
Silent as you are.
Waiting as you are.
I’ve seen the way people look at you.
Some with contempt.
Some with awe.
Never one with understanding.
But one day I will.
I’ll wait, silent,
they way you have,
until one day,
I can look at you with understanding.
Because you’ve seen my good,
and you’ve seen my bad.
And I’ve seen your good,
and I’ve seen your bad.