Barry Peters
Dreaming of the Bandstand
The lights. The audience.
Black mirror of piano lid.
The drummer’s little spears.
Upright coffin of bass.
The inability to read music
or properly hold the saxophone.
These are great fears. Teeth-
falling-out, naked-at-the-gate fears
but my greatest is the absence
of sound, the not-knowing
how to lip the mouthpiece,
how to breathe through the reed,
how to articulate even a squawk.
Maybe it’s possible to fake it,
to stand beside the other tenors
with my silent vehicle and pretend.
Maybe not.
Barry Peters is a writer and teacher in Durham, NC. Recent/forthcoming publications: Baltimore Review, Broad River Review, Connecticut River Review, The Flexible Persona, The Healing Muse, Jelly Bucket, Kakalak, KYSO Flash, Miramar, Plainsongs, Rattle, The Southampton Review, Sport Literate.