Lone Piano

Stormy Weather was just a song
I sang next to my mother as she played
the piano, no understanding of the ache
a heart can feel when separated from
the one you love, an ache that doesn't
measure distance in miles or inches,
but in memories. A woman's heart may
break, tears falling on the pillow
within reach of someone who once
kissed her tenderly goodnight and now,
back turned to her, hugs a pillow tightly
while ignoring her. A man may lie awake
and stare up at the ceiling trying to
remember how it used to be when they
were more than lovers, when music seemed
always to be playing in the background
of their scenes together, a lone piano
and the voices of a woman, and a child.



(c)  Ellen Gillette, 2014