Featured Poem
Piano Lessons
James T. Stemmle
the piano teacher was angry and irritable
incontinent in pain and dying of cancer
eventually they sent her home to hospice
the hospice lady drew out of her
what a good day would look like
and set a goal of rigging things
for one good day
navigating stairs was a problem
so they set up a bed on the first floor
with a potty next to it
and balanced her pain meds to give
long periods of lucidity
so she could manage herself
regain independence
minimize embarrassment
a couple of days into this new normal
ambition returned and it started seeming
as if a good day entailed teaching
so they called her students to see
if they would like to resume lessons
from an old lady who was dying to teach
and so for four weeks or so
there were extraordinary lessons
on the edge of pain and lucidity
culminating in a recital
where every student who played
Brahms or Beethoven got a hug
with a whispered you are special
and a little gift from the teacher
at least one student the daughter
of the physician who told this story
subsequently went to music school
but they all saw a thing of beauty
a woman dying well
Originally published in Coneflower Cafe, 2022