the singing teacher

at 16 he was in a hardcore

band, the vocalist who

screamed a lot & often

shouted---

a neighboring community

college was offering singing

lessons for early credit &

even someone at the age of

16 could apply,

so he thought he’d take a

chance after school a couple

times a week &

signed up.

 

when he first arrived,

her eyes lit up, for the singing

teacher was not accustomed to

male students &

in fact told him so---

he thought she simply saw him

as a challenge, an experiment

of sorts,

after he told her that the only

reason he was taking lessons

was so that he could scream

more without losing his voice

halfway through the show.

 

having studied opera herself &

holding a resume with several

appearances on soundtracks,

she secretly attempted to steer

all of her students in the same

direction, but this new challenge

had horrible Italian pronunciation &

his “creamy” voice seemed to

be more akin to jazz & blues

stylings, so in a short bit of time

she changed up her act &

had him belting out different

tunes.

 

“you need to sing from your

solar plexus…do you know where

that is?” she said, and he shook his

head with indifference,

for at this point he was sick of the

lessons already---

“here, stand behind me…”

&

the teenager did what she said,

then she took his hands in hers

and wrapped them round her stomach,

thrusting them up under her breasts,

moving them around on her belly

remarking “your solar plexus is

right around here…and this is where

you must sing from in order to

keep from losing your voice...”

 

and she breathed in deeply, exhaling,

while his hands were still pushed up

under with her fingers tracing along

his hands…

 

“you mustn’t sing from your throat,

but from this place…a place deep inside

you.” she whispered out,

and in that office with one door &

soundproofing all over,

he did sing.