a gift like an upright piano

There are sacrifices to every come and go
Gifts too big to bring on a journey
A gift like an upright piano
For my twenty-sixth birthday
It was more weathered than we
Older and heavier than our collective existences

It sat patiently like the perfect pet
Like a giant dog that only yells when played with
Full of strings tightly wound
Yet completely nonchalant in its posture
The suspense!

Like a well-crafted timepiece
Only noticed when less than perfect
We adopted it knowing we might have to let it go
Like everything, temporary in nature

There will always be a time to leave
When those great gifts will be too heavy to carry
Too big to hide
Too personal to bequeath
And there will be memories but no mind for memories
Pictures but no eyes for pictures
Stories but no ears for stories

And the functional things will be wheeled out the door
To be adopted again by a foster family
Who has no idea of our history
As we had no idea of the fingers
Who played those keys before
That now lay still and silent
Buried with the secret
Of songs that no one else will ever know