Shattered

by Bryce Milligan

I’ve seen mezzo sopranos shatter glass
and wondered how this high Aflat that sings
an octave above my guitar’s last fret
constantly in my ears can fail to crack
the fragile bones that wrap my inner ear
so seared by sopranos who shatter glass
with a note that weeps just beyond the reach
of fingers, wire and wood but still can’t touch
that octave above my guitar’s last fret
that tone that fills with a fierce white fire
the longedfor silence I seek in sleep.
Some demon soprano shatters glass
inside the hollow round of my skull,
scattering thoughts like Ezekiel’s bones.
An octave above my guitar’s last fret
there hangs a note so high, so pure that no
Orpheus can sing and only death stills,
razoredged shards that slaughter hope and sleep
an octave above my guitar’s last fret.

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