PIANO COMPETITION

A diminished interval
at the piano competition
playing Chopin waltzes
in live moving moments
knowing how important
each phrase is,
as this recital shuts off
my metronome
in this sound proof studio
here under the strobe lights
with the last contestant
not easily sweating his time
after an all night preparation
in an unchanged ashen sweater
from an insomniac night,
making my prayerful way
on a nervous morning
my long fingers caress
the black and white keys
knowing what audition doors
could open for any of us
when past memories
exercise in shadows
of my scattered notes
sailing through  light pages
now playing embellishments
in measureless pursuit
of a cherished scholarship.