my guitar friend
always met me after coffee
before coffee,
at age 16.
.
the problem set in
when left
and right hand
could not, would not, collaborate.
.
left hand was strong and worked
on steel strings to build callouses
while right hand got confused at the elbow, and didn’t understand heights.
.
right hand wanted to finger-pick
strum, but left hand wanted the sound of
the triangle-pick, rhythm-glides
.
both wanted to be smooth, easy,
effortless.
.
the voice was gonna unify each, because that’s where the joy is.
.
until the boyfriend kept borrowing that guitar from the dorm room.
.
but, not to collaborate.
.
no more coffee before or after, long pauses persisted barring inspiration. Voice lost, first. Then, hands lost vision.
.
whose guitar is it? whose voice lay silent? did guitar like new hands?
.
lost notebook. now no words—no longer writing themselves.
.
feeling sad,
left hand persisted with using scales
right hand clung to the only ditties it knew, fear of
not meeting the man
can’t impress him, he’s taken our guitar now.
.
not to collaborate
.
no longer playing, left and right hand don’t engage at all.
.
a cigarette fills the idle hands with its poison.
inner voice blackens with the lungs,
and the nerve to play, hangs inert.
.
maybe meet guitar again,
one day, in a new city, with
healthy vibes and broccoli breaks?
.
smiles and synergy is more like it
.
hands reach for new collaborations,
for times
when left and right coordinate, and the voice that overlays unifies with thrills.
.
right can anticipate left’s transitions and synchronize in professional, musical peace.
.
hands are meant to work together and voice will lead the way. The voice and hands connect directly to the heart.
.
there’s nothing left to say.
Fiesta Estrellas 
Loving the musicality of this poem and how organically the words run out. 💗
Thank you! I’m very appreciative of your compliments here and your way of reading my words! 💕
I enjoyed your musically poetic story Ka. Loved the connection with voice and hands. 💜😘
Thank you, Debby! 💕💕
🧡
This is so intrinsically beautiful , Ka. Love the nuances in all the words. Eloquently crafted piece.. ♥️😘
Thank you so very much, Yassy! Your feedback always shines for me! ✨✨✨
My pleasure, my soul buddy ♥️🤗.. my cosmic sibling .. you light up with your heart felt posts.
Very poignant and touching verse Ka.
Thank you, Brad, very much for reading! 📖 💗 Very much appreciated.
My pleasure Ka.
The tragedy of division, when communication ceases. So highly self destructive, and, ultimately selfish. Though, of course, it takes both hands to act together, and only one of them to break the collaboration.
More prosaically – one of my retirement projects will be to try to teach myself to pluck a tune out of a mandolin. The instrument (a very basic model) has been purchased and I await my birthday. Wish me luck and coordination…!
Thank you. Yes, your insights are clear and true as they read to me:“It takes both hands to act together, and only one of them to break the collaboration.”
When is your birthday? If you don’t mind sharing… We can send you a virtual “shout out and boost!” As for the mandolin gift you await, I am wishing you luck, coordination, and a bit of extra grace! 🎶
Thankyou – the extra luck, coordination and grace will be much needed. I play no instrument, at present.
22nd. I’m almost a child of the equinox… that might explain a few things… 🤔😄
But ere they all did meet, time after time, little by little. That challenge to balance with everything, not realizing it isn’t until we balance within that we can with all else. Great poem Ka 🤗❤️🙏
I can feel the emotion of this!!
Hope you are well, Ka!! 💜🙏
I’m glad that ‘emotion’ conveys!
I’m doing pretty well, Lorrie! Sending love 💗 🙂 smiles, and thanks for visiting!! 🤗
Happy to hear that, Ka ☺️ All good things my friend 💜
💗💜💗
What an evocative poem, Ka. Your imagery of hands and voice disconnected yet yearning for unity resonated with me. I love how you wove creative struggle and longing into something universally felt. The hope within your closing lines is moving; the heart can guide us back to our art and ourselves.
This is such a wonderful compliment to receive. I feel like you fully felt my poem and understood its movements and yearnings. I am pleased you also noted the hope, and that it touched you as well. Thank you so much!
I can feel this physically, having returned to guitar playing and singing off and on over the years and now, playing at church occasionally in spite of a little arthritis in my hands, but it takes a while to learn this balance. When humans learn to collaborate the left and right, and we’ll make beautiful music.
Thanks, JoAnna! You definitely understand. Wishing for more collaboration and coordination! Happy playing! 💗
❤