Concerto in Fantasia — nikita kalyana

photo: paige miller hmua: gracie gilchriest

fashion styling: nikita kalyana writer: ajà manique

set styling: paige miller & nikita kalyana

models: sebastian calderon & diana perez

the staves are the first to rope me in and wind me so tightly that I,

myself, become the key signature. they think me treble with the

clef in my chin and vibrato in my voice. I am the “Rite of Spring.” I

am E♭,

F♭ polychords.

in this arrangement, jade skies are not so foreign. neither are two-

lipped tulips whose honeyed nectar

sheens the petals. i pucker up and lean down to kiss them, but

they bite back. C? #. i much prefer the

company of others.

i revel in the stories told by specters — stories of seafoam wishes

and lost dreams. they sing sea shanties

with perfect pitch, and i would join them if not for my amusia. i

am the right note who exists in the

wrong key. still, we dance together under emerald rains and bask

under the light of a holey, Swiss

moon.

________________

When the music stops, I am reminded of life far away from here.

A grindstone life that urges me to face

the music or die trying, dies irae. but i would much rather stay

here — in the off key. i am at home in

the inharmonic harmony of this world.