The Keyboard Ballerina

Keys stretched out below my fingertips;

they thunder to the left and diminish to the right

This is my stage, now.

And every melody, a performance of the grandest nature

For the most discerning nobility

Eighty eight of them…

Soft, welcoming ivory,

Stable, commanding ebony.

Each it’s very own playground…

Each will perform it’s own solo

And must perform with precision

With the other eighty-seven.

They must blend perfectly

And must always compliment one another;

There is no place for competition here

No one advances

Alone

In front of me, the dancers.

Young.

Aspiring.

Pouring every ounce

Of blood

Sweat

And tears

Into those aspirations

These are the learning hours

These are the painful,

Breathtaking

Moments

Where you master the discipline

That will one day

Flow from you

Like you were born

With toes pointed downward…

You will glide

As the swan glides on the lake

You will fly

As the dove soars

Released from the chapel window…

You will conjure visions

And memories

Stir passions

And dreams

Most of all

You will embrace yourself

You

Are the dancer.

My fingers touch the keys

And the notes float…

The notes rest softly on their ears

And the dancers float

This is my stage now.

The sideline

But still on the inside of the ring…

With every plie’ I feel it…

Every arabesque

I am a child again

And my feet are awkward

And I am clumsy

In hard, new pointe shoes

The saut de chat

Ooh…

The keyboard!!

My fingers press harder

onto the ivory

and ebony

My heart races

And part of me

Has dispatched the floor

My memories

Have lifted my spirit

And I have taken flight

Eighty-eight wonderful keys

Little ballerinas of music

This is my stage now.

Time for the passing of the torch

The changing of the guards

But…

I will ALWAYS be a dancer ♥