Duet With A Peony Poem by Grace Lim

A dark red peony
Darker red than
The crown of a rooster
Swollen with pride
Stood on the grand piano

The petals fall
On the black and white ivories
I hear a quiet pianissimo tone
A haunting sense of emptiness
Soft and mysterious

Constant change of mood
The last piece of satin red petal
With hint of jazz　
Morph into a smooth abscission
Like a saxophonist flirting the soft piano

I close my eyes
Red petals bursting up the piano keys
Like fireworks, a fleeting dream
Dazzling array of pianistic explosions
And me, duet with a dark red peony