The magic of music starts the same for everyone,
extemporaneously rollicking across ivory keys.
With some rehearsing the simple tunes begin to
fill a home. “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater” is
easy enough to plunk out. And with time and
confidence “Heart and Soul” finds its place
amongst the beloved tunes that generation
after generation play upon the old, un-tuned
upright. The music alone is not the only treasure
the piano offers. That place along the arm where
the wood is chipping off is the spot my
mother chewed on as a four-year-old, as her
own siblings plunked out this song and that,
maybe even “Heart and Soul.” The rightmost pedal
that no longer rises or falls is the result of years
of familial love, love so full and heavy that the
floor holds the damper pedal in a decades-long hug.
Bio:
Elizabeth Bates is a high school poetry and creative writing teacher. Her work has appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, Versification literary zine, Kreaxxxion Review, and The Daily Drunk mag. Bates is currently drafting her debut fiction novel. She lives in Washington state with her husband, son, and two Siberian Huskies.