euphoria

by Monica Chen

breathless
a relic of light
surrounded by a haze of sound
your hands, alchemists
bend ivory into gold
each combination of touches
builds a melody
from nothing

rhythmic, it sounds
like a heartbeat

the piano
it does not sing
it weeps
it shouts
it screams, raw and unfiltered
its voice split open
by your touch

from your fingertips
the melody pours out
like blood from a wound
thick with grief
sharp with longing
the song chases you in a race
like a wave chases a spout of wind
each crescendo pulls deep into the ocean
into the water
drowning
broken
lifted
gone

in that moment my breath has left me
my mind and soul
are no longer with me
lost in a labyrinth
walls of sound
towering
until they eclipse the light

the final note fades into silence
my soul drifting with it
slipped free from my body
into the chamber

lifted away
with the music
drifting into the stars