“heartstrings” by Gabrielle Tilli

Illustration by Arts and Literary Journal staff editor Vanessa Lee.

i smile weakly at our 

children’s children, 

and wonder how i made it, 

basking in a once lonely man’s vision.

how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

i ask, drawing dutiful grins,

“Grandpa, you practice!”

comes the chorus of the twins.

i look back on each night,  

years younger, she and i.

i sat front-row at every show

and smiled until i cried. 

then later, her fingers traced

the strings of my heartbreak.

playing me flawlessly, 

without mistake.

her fingers seared my heart,

and i knew i’d never be free.

how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

she practiced enough on me.

Gabrielle Tilli is a freshman here at the University of Michigan.  In her free time, she loves to write and make homemade crafts, especially the wearable kind. She is currently dual majoring in English and psychology.