Alphabets: Mu

By Thomas Page

I played the saxophone in the eighth grade

Which in hindsight

Is the worst time to play the saxophone.

I had an alto

Which would blister in my teeth

As I tried to move my hands along the brass keys

Mimicking the basic songs of yore.

I remember seating awkwardly

Like the phone in my hands

Trying to read along with the music

Which seemed so disconnected with my fingers.

During Christmas,

I walked up to the front of the church

To sit with the elementary school students

And play something I don’t quite remember.

I don’t remember anything I played

Just the feeling of the brass

And the wood on my tongue.

I found out later that my problem with reading was universal

And I was fitted for glasses

Just after I put the saxophone away