The Luthier's Window

I found a fiddle in a crate A seam split open near the face The man who fixed the bridge downtown Said bring it in, we'll hear it out He held the wood against the light And said the break was worth his time Wood remembers more than scars More than where the cracks first start Put the bow against the string Let the mended timber sing I paid him slowly after school He taught me how to tune by ear His window faced a narrow lane Where I played scales through summer rain Wood remembers more than scars More than where the cracks first start Put the bow against the string Let the mended timber sing He missed my first town-hall recital A broken hip had kept him in Next morning by his open window I played the whole thing once again Wood remembers more than scars More than where the cracks first start Put the bow against the string Let the mended timber sing He closed his eyes and tapped the sill The narrow lane grew very still