Recordings

By: Nicole Yeo

A simple assignment:

two minutes of song.

Three hours later

and it’s not yet that long.

“Did you read the rhythms?”

“It’s shaky here.”

“The dynamics are wrong!”

“There’s flat notes there.”

Time’s ticking down;

the deadline’s at two.

It’s one attempt after another,

each starting anew.

“This would be easy

if you could play the piano.”

“This is the reason why

you’re not a soprano.”

The professor sends out a reminder:

“You’re not striving for perfection. You’re working to improve.”

Scrolling up the page,

back to the first track—

yes, there’s a difference—

the practice made an impact.

Listening with new ears,

the recordings sound good.

And it’s easy to see that

you did the best you could.