I heard the mandolin play the happy song, sadly - David Handsher

[Lawrence Robinson]

I heard the mandolin play the happy song, sadly

Because I knew the mandolin player,
because I knew about the cancer,
because I knew his wife was standing near,
because I knew that the only time he seemed so lively
was in the music, when his fingers coaxed the notes,
his eyes shut, his ear close to the sounding board in his hands —

the sadness in the air sounded in my heart
and touched an endless sea in my chest,
like variations on a melody that had no bottom and no end
and only stopped when the musicians nodded to each other
and we knew it was over.

	- David Handsher