The tune of the song

I am about to sing

clicks on my vocal chords,

strain a bit

like a guitar that can’t find release.

There is silence in the spectacles

of the crowd

anxious to listen to

Make you feel my love,

once again.

I never knew how to read

musical tones,

a teacher attempted to teach me to play piano

back in 8th grade,

the melody didn’t become

a Clair de Lune.

My family has never seen my voice,

the comfort it brings me

when I tend to focus on the negative of the days

that my professor decides to give a pop quiz

or the awkward moment when my crush doesn’t like

my favorite song.

But my heart beats

into a different note

while hanging on to

the ding dong of the bells

and the voice of Lana Del Rey

on my brain.

Summertime Sadness

or even National Anthem,

planning to become my next

hit for this competition.

I anticipate my own

voice to strip me of my shaking hands

but what if I cannot

make a sound?