The Unplayed Violin

By John Grey

 

Violin -
a silent face
with opened eyes,
whose pegs still bear the stress
of strings,
whose Bach, Bartok and Gianni cargo
is rolled up,
left to rot.

 

Inside the staff,
a fouled treble clef,
mildewed diatonic scale.
Pitch that once
never strayed from course,
now slumps
many notes deeper.

 

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Soundings East, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in West Trade Review, Willard and Maple and Connecticut River Review.