As she plays
the Schubert
piano piece
Yochana thinks
on Benedict
even as her mother
stands behind her
listening to her
every note
Benedict's image
fills her mind
the kiss still
feels damp
upon her lips
and cheek
and as she fingers
the Schubert
she senses her fingers
wanting to finger him
her mother says
you missed a note
you are not focusing
Yochana pauses
her fingers
over the keyboard
of black and white
senses her mother's breath
upon her neck
her mother's fingers
tapping her shoulder
and even as
she begins
to play again
it's Benedict whom
she thinks on
and his eyes she sees
in the reflection
of the piano wood
it must flow
her mother says
let Schubert speak
but Benedict's fingers
on her back
as he held her close
are all she feels
as she moves
to the music's pulse
on the piano stool
and as her mother's breath
floats upon her neck
it's his breath
she imagines
is there
and she and he
not there at the piano
but closer elsewhere.
A GIRL PRACTICES HER SCHUBERT WHILE HER MOTHER WATCHES BUT IT'S THE BOY BENEDICT WHO IS ON HER MIND IN 1962