The Piano Player
A man walked out of the sea one night.
His dinner suit was ruined, shrunk
so tight the buttons had all burst
and his trousers were up to the knees.
When they asked him who he was, he cried.
The theory that he was a mermaid
did not last long. He had no tail
and two very white legs. Besides
he was male (though quite beautiful).
Others said maybe he came from Atlantis.
They took him to an institution,
gave him a meal and a change of clothes.
He never spoke, but wandered the grounds
watering the plants with his tears,
murmuring melodies into their petals.
Then he found the therapy room
with the unused piano. He sat
and played music into the night.
People gathered and watched
as his hands flowed over the keys
like dancing spiders:
they heard Bach and Debussy,
Mozart and Lennon.
And the dark ocean whispered
its loss in the moonlight.
Page(s) 8
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