The Churchyard

As children we would injure everything in sight.

We threw a stone into the boughs,

And a nest dropped out of the tree. Over and over,

The bird drew thick black circles in the sky.

The tree was bent like sorrow.

 

How many times I tried

To imitate the piano!

To crouch beside the altar, even during the long hours

When no one entered the sanctuary,

With my lid closed and my legs strong.

 

The black keys were rising out of the piano,

But something stopped them. Now they hover above the rest,

Now they wait.