Words Of a Feather

My fingers could writhe in agony if they ever saw a piano again

My body could never bear sitting still for such a long time

My eyes would shoot down any music note with a killer glare

My ears would hold the memories of the piano as it guided me through my life

Since my youth, I have known the piano better than I knew my best friend

My ear knew every key and every note so much

That I would develop perfect pitch

These piano keys would be the keys to my success and happiness

As it may have been tiresome to practice every day, but it was worth it

Seeing my fingers master a song so quickly and finally having a claim to my name

Something no one could take from me

For weeks, I have been cooking a melody, E minor edition

Something short, but enthusiastic, with a beat I have never seen

It was thrilling to try something new instead of the dull classical music that rang in my ears whenever I touched a piano

It took plenty of research and dedication as if this was my first time playing the piano

Soon, I passed my music class with this remarkable melody

Then, I would take it to my music school and play this masterpiece there

To me, it was a legendary piece that could move hearts, but that night felt otherwise

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I was waiting backstage counting down the seconds, minutes, and hours until it was my turn

Each moment felt longer than the last

I could feel the excitement tremor down my body, jolting through my nerves

Making my nervous system an excited system

Until finally, they called my name

And I could achieve a chance at fame

Letting everyone hear my song, blessed with the beat and rhythm

Astonished by the tempo and melody

And applaud after hearing the song of jovial tone

Let’s do this

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I would sit at the piano, my back straight as a stick

All these people were watching, so many unnamed faces

Judging my every moves and murmuring from the sidelines

I was unable to see as the light blinded my eyes

The eyes cursed with knowing every note and key

I took a deep breath and played the first few notes, which is when I made a grave mistake

One simple note dulled the song and deafened my confidence

I tried again and played my heart out, but the notes did not follow my fingers’ orders

I watched as these people were eagerly waiting for me to complete the song properly

But I did not want to do anything for the rest of my life

My voice could crackle, tears were running away from my eyes

My vision was blurry, though it already was without my glasses

And all this misery made everything worse; everyone could see me cry

Imagine how poorly they thought of me

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I couldn’t give up

I played my song one final time

Plenty of mistakes were made again, but not too noticeable

Once I finished my song, my face was still soggy

My eyes were pinker than a pig

I walked off the stage and grabbed my plastic medal as the audience went wild for me

All that positivity was tuned out of my brain after all those mistakes

I could never forgive myself for being an embarrassment to my own name

Ruining what could’ve been the greatest moment of my 12-year-old life

My family praised me for my effort, but I saw it as a pity party

My skin was cold, my mind was only full of thoughts of dismay

Displeasure

Failure

I don’t care what my family said to me that day, it was irrelevant as I drowned in my own tears

Keeping my mouth shut until I had to gasp for air

My heart beating louder than my own thoughts

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The day after was a miracle

We were driving to school,

The bitter memories of last night still echoed inside of my brain,

Playing on loop so as to remind me of my immortal failure

Suddenly, everything changed

My mom showed me a video of my performance that was posted on the music school’s Facebook page

I caught the attention of hundreds admiring my skill and talent

My ingenuity as I kept trying

My grit after spending hours mastering my own song

I could not believe that my failures were so admired, but finally, I did

My face lit up like the screen I saw

I looked past the blinding binds of my sorrow and jumped with joy

I may have failed myself, but everyone else saw me as someone who surpassed the rest

Someone with a bright future to match my newfound, bright smile