from Cello Music & Other Poems

The title poem from my latest collection.










Cello Music

I imagine pulling a bow
across your strings
and hearing your voice as you
respond to my expert playing

You are softer than you seem
as I bow and pluck you—

Delirious arpeggios
staccato riffs
sustains
rests
shimmering
tremulous sounds cascade down

I imagine playing you slowly
under water with a crush
of current against my chest

My left hand drifts
to your slender neck as
I bow and improvise;
my right hand moves in perfect
union with your perfect pitch

I imagine playing you on
a sleepless night
I sit up in bed and lay you
across my thighs and
play you with such ease you
begin to moan and cry
while the neighbors
listen to cello music.


TS