Each time I heard you sing
was like the first time, your voice
billowing like thunderclouds rising
into blue, then fluttering like
cherry blossoms to earth, every note
opening space in my chest until
my throbbing heart was fully exposed.

And so it was when at last we met.
I wondered if you could see the pulse
in my throat, struggling to escape,
to burst out of my body in rapture.

In that moment, we couldn’t have known
how intricately our lives would entwine
or that your voice would be my last
conscious prayer.

*****

Napowrimo Day 15 prompt: “Today, I’d like to challenge you to write your own dramatic monologue. It doesn’t have to be quite as serious as Browning or Shakespeare, of course, but try to create a sort of specific voice or character that can act as the “speaker” of your poem, and that could be acted by someone reciting the poem.”

I watched the film Bel Canto over the weekend and it made an impression on me. Next, the book!
This poem is spoken by Mr.Hosokawa, a Japanese businessman who is enamored of Roxane Coss, an opera singer. She’s hired by a South American businessman to sing at a private birthday party for Mr.Hosokawa. The party is stormed by rebels and the participants held hostage. And that’s all I’m sayin’ about that. You must watch it!