Roberta Beary
Orchestra—Row C Seat 15
You are seven. At the recital he announces your lack of talent to the other parents. Ten years on, with arms crossed, he peers through the screen-door at the piano he’s left behind. Listens with a bemused expression. Until your fingers pause for breath. Not bad, he says, one eyebrow raised.
birdsong vibrato
a cat twitches
into view
•••
Fingers on the concert grand form an earthly paradise. Made of minor chords and major lifts. You center the stage, take a bow. The audience calls encore, encore. I stand and clap, perhaps for both of us. Five years on, I will find the ticket-stub in a book of poems and hand it to you. You will smile, one eyebrow raised.
red maple
a trill of birdsong
veins the view
About the Author
Roberta Beary, haibun editor of Modern Haiku, identifies as gender fluid and divides their time between the USA and Ireland. Winner of the Bridport Poetry Prize, they co-authored, with Lew Watts and Rich Youmans, Haibun: A Writer’s Guide (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023). Recent books include their award-winning haiku collection Carousel (Snapshot Press, 2024) and Crazy Bitches: Selected Haibun, (MacQ, 2025).
Ahhhh, Roberta. You never disappoint. One eybrow raised. I saw it instantly in past encounters of my own, when someone was surprised that I actually had some chops. Bravo.
Thank you, Katherine! Appreciate your comment 💜