II. allegro furioso: wings against the frame

the tempo lifts
shy at first
but hunger cracks thru
a wingbeat mistimed
then another
and suddenly I’m breathin wrong
too quick
too much
oxygen volatile in my chest

notes climb

without grace
right hand runnin
chasin ghosts up the scale
left hand anchorin low

a heartbeat gnashin its teeth

color floods the strings
gold
then green
then somethin unnamed
shimmerin like silver under water
like sound tryin to catch fire

I lose count
lose caution
lose the fuckin floor
beneath the keys
and my body follows
instinct blind
shoulders tense
back bowin
fingers blur
tryin to outrun guilt

there’s no thinkin here
just pulse
raw
feral
alive

the sound sharpens
then warps
a fracture in the measure

dissonance cuts
glass under my skin
my breath staggers
my hands don’t stop

left crashes down
a dark bell toll
right breaks upward
shards of light
color twists and collides
not harmony
not war
just truth too big to make sense of

I can’t tell
if I’m playin
or bein played
and maybe it doesn’t fuckin matter
the room is shakin
the sound is teeth
and I’m caught
inside it’s fury
the rapid beatin of its wings
the storm pulse
the feverless fire

and when it finally breaks
it doesn’t stop
it falls
slow

rememberin gravity
after bein held too high

notes drop in exhaustion
scatterin in the hush
pedal half lifted
sustain barely breathin
quiet returnin
a wild eyed animal
careful
curious
watchin

and I’m left
heart stutterin
hands hoverin above ivory
like the next strike might save me
or undo me
but goddamnit
I want both