Prelude in C, by Lisa Molina

Spirit, by George Roux (France) 1885

Prelude in C

As a boy,
his fingers flew,
fluttering over
the white keys 

to the doors of the
concert halls within.
Windows open,
so the neighbors

could stop, look,
listen, and be transported
from their weariness,
worries, and fears.

•

But the judge wrote
on the scorecard
that Bach should be
played straight and light;

A consistent tap tap tap, with
no crescendos or diminuendos
that plagued and graced the 
music of the boy’s mind.

“You are not to perform Bach 
with the emotion of Beethoven,”
read the callous critique of the
dispassionate judge.

•

I think of this, as I sit 
here, trying not to 
hear or feel emotions 
of pain. Of loss.

Just my fingers 
tap tap tapping
next to me on the
wooden pew I sit upon,

as the Prelude in C,
now devoid of emotional
crescendos and diminuendos,   
sings the boy’s requiem.

Lisa Molina
​
This poem was first published in Trouvaille Review.

Lisa Molina is a writer/educator in Austin, Texas. Her digital chapbook Don’t Fall in Love with Sisyphus, was launched by Fahmidan Publishing & Co in February 2022, and Molina’s next chapbook, in print, will be published in March 2023. Her flash fiction piece “Young Man in the Moon” was recently named a Finalist in the 50 Shades of Blue Contest held by The Ekphrastic Review. Her writing can be found in numerous journals, including The Ekphrastic Review, Beyond Words Magazine, Sparked Literary Magazine, Neologism Poetry Journal, Trouvaille Review, and Amethyst Review.