By the Way
by
Radiance Angelina Petro

Even James Joyce entered singing contests,
Richard Wagner sang, but couldn’t hit a note and didn’t care,
Fred Astaire sang while dancing,
Billie Holiday blessed the child.

There are only so many notes to sing,
and we all, like birds, have ready-made voices,
we all use by-the-way breaths.

Discard what anyone thinks of you—
the good or bad from the beginning,
wear sensible shoes, and let your voice swing
with the band.