Some Student Asks to Practice the Piano in the Music Room Where I Would Soon Teach

I at the dry erase, he at the grand.
I didn't know the chords, but the melody was deep.

Not 18 inches away, he struck the keys
and my lungs felt hollow, my bones solid enough.

I smeared the outline, the rubric, the expectations
onto the board;
he soon dribbled into a playful tune. Fleeting scales.

The brief intersection had passed
and he left.