the musical game of girls in chairs

while I play the piano

and they switch back and forth, giggling

there was a Russian girl who liked me

but I was worried about her

She had past trauma, and had to travel around the world 3 or 4 times to get over it

She made my mother cookies, and my mother instantly loved her

“Should I marry her?”

“Yes. Yes. Yes,” my mother said.

I can’t trust my mother, anymore.

there was an airline stewardess who wore dresses from Tennessee

but she was taking sleeping pills

She had dark circles under her eyes, and she kept asking me

if she could come over, and I said, “Yes.”

and she sat there

with her blond hair

wearing spandex and a crop top, while drinking tea

and I thought,

God, I’m going to do something I regret.

there was a girl from El Salvador who wanted to go to Alaska with me

and I blew her off

She was obsessed with my body. She kept asking me (no, telling me) “Take your shirt off.”

And when I got overweight, she told me, “You know… my girlfriend thinks you’re fat, but I like you.”

I was horrified. Then she tried to suck my lips off, and I pushed her away, and she laughed.

I kept playing the piano, and the girls kept dancing around

The Girl from El Salvador met a blond engineer who looked like he was 12

The Russian Girl met a man who loved hiking, and she gave her heart to him

The airline stewardess took more sleeping pills, smoked more cigars, and did it in the sky with countless guys

I kept playing the piano, because it was a beautiful tune

all the chairs were empty

No new girls entered the room

Then, I stopped playing,

altogether

and it was quiet.

Now, I think about playing the piano again

Perhaps, a wedding march?

Have I lost my mind?