She Used to Play Mozart (or When the Hammer Came Down)
Rita Costello
I spoke to the woman
next door last night
She told me her eye
sockets have always had
that tinge of purple
welling within them
But I've seen her eyes more cloudy
and more clear once or twice
She says her cheeks
have always had
that reddish hue
It's just so solid
so bright these days
like the broken vessels
of a drunkard's nose
Her slim bony fingers
are growing splayed like weeds
I don't think we'll hear her
playing piano
through the walls anymore
the hammer
coming down on slim
wiry strings pounding
smashing out a song
to sing
at the garden gate
as the sirens come
to take the body away.
