Vibrations

the fingers of her right hand

rest lightly

upon the slightly

raised covercle

of the polished baby grand

***

vibrations rise

through her arm

to her lips

taste buds savoring

flavors she has never known

bitter

sweet

salty

sour

savory

forming chords

& cadences

upon her tongue

wild crescendos

haunting

subtle nuances

sensual combinations

no epicure ever knew

***

receptors

above

hidden within

nasal cavaties

begin to tremble

transcending glomeruli

to the olfactory bulb

stirring memory

& emotion

she breathes deeply

of fragrant meadows

baking bread

sudden dread

alarming pungency

& acidity

as tears form

in sightless eyes

***

ossicles

forever unconcerned

with their tympanic membranes

begin to move

to dance

with sounds

not once perceived

through the outer ears

as rhythms drum

strings sing

flutes soothe

clarinets caress

saxophones swing

brass proclaim

with harmonies

& dissonance

hitherto unimagined

causing fluids to swirl

in canals vestibular

losing all sense of balance

in the moment

she fingers her cane

her head spins

but she is restored

***

opercula flutter now

brushing back the sting of tears

wrung by torturous beauty

as once occluded light

ever denied by cornea & lenses darkened

bursts through neglected retinas

sweeping to superior colliculus & back

photopic

scotopic

& mesopic vision

combine

in a kaleidoscope of wonder

a symphony of color

a dazzling array

once unimagined

becoming real

vibrations slow

lessening impact

end

her world once again

silent & dark

she lowers her right hand

joining with her left

atop her cane

the lesson over

she rises

tapping her way

finds the door

& departs