Renata at the Piano
(On Au Piano, Romaine Brooks (USA) 1920)
Her eyes downcast, her hands spread rigidly taut,
her somber expression hidden within the notes.
Oh dear! a memory slip, forgetting what she thought
she knew so well. Ah! now again the music floats
as she wanders blindly, with much embellishment.
With each repetition of Marche Funebre she earnestly strives
to speak Chopin’s darkly Romantic intent.
At a laborious and unlikely first ending she arrives
but now must perform a da capo without mistake.
Oh, hidden agony for this accomplished player—
there’s no intermission, no time for her to take
a rest before performing her feverish final and improvised layer.
Her hand muscles serve her better than her brain.
No escape—till the last note, au piano she must remain.
© 2023 Carole Mertz
Carole Mertz, poet and essayist, is the author of Color and Line, a collection of ekphrais and other poetry (Kelsay Books, 2021). Her poems also appear in Adanna, Al-Khemia Poetica, Quill & Parchment, Riddled with Arrows, The Ekphrastic Review, and elsewhere. Her chapbook Toward a Peeping Sunrise is a best-seller at Prolific Press. Carole resides with her husband in Ukrainian Village, Parma, Ohio.
