Arietta

By John I. Blair

Most of us
Hear tunes
In our heads.

If we’re lucky
They soothe,
They change.

Last year
Strong music
Filled my mind,

Grieg’s Arietta,
Tart, sad notes
I’d learned to play

Just before
You found pain
In hospital beds.

One tone five times
Started the piece,
Pounding my brain;

Then, down a step,
Five more,
And a questioning refrain,

Always sounding
Unanswered
– Incomplete.

Then you came home
And what had been a dirge
Transformed to an anthem!

Like life, I think –
A song with no answer
But a true heart.

©2008 John I. Blair

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