A Note to 5th Octave C

I remember you,

even when you loosen and unwind

from want of tuning,

when desuetude,

like a gravity,

pulls you flat,

dropping you into the depths

of lower notes you didn’t know you could be.

It feels both loving and not

to turn your tuning peg

and pull you back up

to your place.

Loving to remind you of yourself,

Unloving to end the wandering.

It has been a long night,

and, like me,

night has bewitched and stretched you

more than the others,

like me, you resist

holding your place in scale.

I will always smile,

when I find you

traveling out of center,

down and towards the edges.

I will feel just a little sad

turning your peg,

reminding you,

only when we are all different again,

can we play.