Heart Filled with Arias
(April 13, 2012)

He opens the petite closet
For the first time in months,
And stares at the unworn clothes,
Inhaling the familiar scent of her perfume
That still lingers in the air.

He removes the silk blouse,
Waiting crisp and ironed,
Ready to be worn to daycare,
And clings it to his chest
As if she is there in the room.

With familiar tears escaping from within,
He places the blouse back on the rack,
And makes his way to the living room,
Where she awaits his beautiful solos,
With a red rose in her hands.

He looks deep into her sparkling eyes
And serenades her with his collection of arias
That she’s come to appreciate over the years.
His voice doesn’t waver as the notes,
Full of delicate passion, fill the empty room.

As the final notes of the concluding aria
Escape from within him, hours later,
He removes her portrait from the wall,
Clutches it to his beating heart,
And tenderly brushes his lips against hers.

Jane, I love you sweetheart.
I hope you enjoyed those arias.
He whispers, hanging the portrait
On its familiar resting place,
Between the open windows.

Tomorrow will be another day filled with song,
Another day with his beloved wife
That he will treasure forever in his heart,
For it will always be filled with the familiar arias
She has come to appreciate through the years.

© 2012 by Lena Kovadlo

 This poem is included in the poetry book A Crimson Tide.