Only Quelled by the Music

These memories are like songs in my headPhoto by Joanna Nix-Walkup on Unsplash

Memories are the melodies of my song—singing to me
all night long. Nostalgic harmonies
accompany the bittersweet tones of careless laughter
and innocent wails—a trail
for me to stroll along—like you once said—when I’m older
now: never more frail. All my ails—
the rhythm of a heart that keeps on beating, not yet knowing
what it means to fail. Answer to my calls—
my body stalls, in no one moment:
I don’t count the seconds, for life’s meter
is not simple nor compound.
Experimental—evolving over time—
uncertainty is a certainty—my anxiety
is like a stretto that keeps on layering
the same, haunting motifs upon the suspense—then a release,
until it builds back up again. All the songs in my head—

Dread—
only quelled by the music.

©2022 A.X. Bates

That Warm Summer Air

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Only Quelled by the Music was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.