The Last Pianissimo

after Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings

the sound of disinfectant

squeezed over the skin

weeping

the pull of suture through septum

tied inside the mouth

reckoning

lids closed over eye caps

rigor mortis loosened

release

an incision near the navel

solution in the cavity

in requiem

LISA OLSSON

Lisa Olsson is a poet who writes about music and art. She is a cellist and plays with the Yonkers Philharmonic, Westchester Chamber Soloists, and Kort String Quartet. One of her poems won the Poetry in the Pavement contest sponsored by the Hudson Valley Writers Center. Her debut chapbook, The Size of Dark Cherries, was published in April, 2025 by Finishing Line Press.