The Steinway grand,
under warm hall lights,
expectant crowd, murmuring

reviewing the program:
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven
in the first half

Chopin, Debussy, and Prokofiev
in the second

and, lately, he has been playing
the Schubert as first encore

the hall lights dim,
the stage door open,
his confident footsteps,
a roar of applause

he bows, a hint of
that charming smile,

he sits at the piano,
the hall falls silent,
he lifts his hands
to the keyboard

and opens
a new universe