I enter the vault
Where lights never work
Only the dimmest glow
Seeping through the open door
Helps me hunt
In here lies every song
I’ve ever known
In no particular order
Stacked among cobwebs
Spun by prolific spiders
I comb the contents for a single song
Hidden here among the sleeves and cases
Pick up each
Hold it to the tip of my tongue
Touch thousands and thousands
My tongue nearly raw
As I pick up
Always
The last one
By elimination
I taste the one I’m looking for
I say the name
Then hear it play again
The words and melody
Coming back to me
I close the door
But nowadays leave it unlocked
Make it that much easier
To get back inside
Now that I need to go in there
More and more
Lanning Lee 