To sing like a nightingale,
sultry and sweet,
I’d give every chord in my throat,
every step from my feet

Soleless and slowly,
I would weep,
as the strums of my guitar,
make my Father believe

In rhythm and chances,
encounters and beats,
melodic notes to accompany,
my everyday feats

Each note would spread,
out from within me,
ankles to toes to elbows to nose,
body set free

Every nerve, every tendon,
tingling with heat,
throughout my entirety,
a starfish laid across a beach

If I had a choice, I’d raise up my voice,
decibels beyond defeat,
echoing from ear to ear,
raising bodies from seats

To sing like a nightingale,
sultry and sweet,
I’d give every second,
until again we could meet.

Glenna Lynne Schubert