(poem) Lyra
(This poem is part of the Night Sky anthology - a project where I write poems titled after the 88 IAU constellations. This poem was written on 14 Nov 2021.)
The air rang today,
With the sweetest sound,
I saw you on the other side of the street,
Your hand strumming up and down.
The world slowed down by a second,
There were swooning passerbys,
I saw hearts thrown at your feet,
And tears in their eyes.
But you looked straight down at the road,
Amidst the throng that wouldn't quell,
Your eyes staring, beyond the concrete,
All the way to hell.
A place from where you had just arrived,
Your heart is wounded and soft,
Your brain throbbing with memories,
Of the one you held dear and thus lost.
All the way, I saw you try your hardest,
As you held her hand, through the darkest alleyways,
You carried, fed, walked and crawled,
Through sleepless nights and formless days.
Sometimes, none of us are to blame,
When the alleyways take back what they gave,
A life worth a few moments at best,
And nothing more that one could save.
I remember attending her funeral,
A grave with dirt, a body and a casket stuffed,
Her last words were goodbye, you told me,
And that she died knowing she was dearly loved.
Your notes spout from the fountainhead,
Your chords drift to the sky to form clouds,
You hum along for all the lives you bettered,
For mine, I couldn't express aloud.
I hold my breath for all that awaits you,
As you decide to continue and grow old,
I can only hope that one day you can see her picture,
And not be struck by a lightning bolt.
(The constellation Lyra is a lyre.)