Jonathan McKeown
. . . any other way
In the mornings, before school, she always begins, con brio, risoluto, allegrissimo—a little too so, as if velocity were tantamount to virtuosity—and continues that way for as long as she can keep it up. . . until she hits a wrong note, that is, whereupon she loops back, repeating the phrase, trying to get it right, and will continue looping until she does. . . or her patience with her performance is exhausted. When that happens, which is most mornings, she does this thing on the keys—the musical equivalent of scrunching a letter you’ve written after reading over it—a random scrabble of notes bent on erasure, destruction, riddance. I love it, though I have to conceal my delight. It’s so expressive. . . of her—her struggle with herself. The perfect music for that mood. Then she begins again, as she does every morning before school: con brio, risoluto, allegrissimo. . .
adagio a fiddlehead unfurling
About the Author
Jonathan McKeown lives near Cook’s River in Sydney and enjoys the privilege of existing and of being a part of this world. He works as a plumber. He also loves reading a wide range of literature. His poems have been published in leading journals over the past decade and in 2022 his first book of haibun and haiku, Genesis, was published with Red Moon Press.