do re mi

(the new poem which I read at Broken Mic on Wednesday...it got some laughs/snaps, so here 'tis).

Apparently I don't look like a singer.
I'm not sure what a singer looks like.
Maybe skinnier?
Perhaps people think the notes come out clearer that way
Rocketing straight up from the diaphragm
Out the mouth
Tuneful and brilliant
Whereas a melody might get lost
Among my curves.
It's a possibility,
I don't actually know.
I DO know that if I try for high notes
I get faint and squeaky.
I'm an alto
Tending to the lower registers
And given to transposing higher songs
So they fit my natural range.
That's probably cheating.
I say 'apparently' I don't look like a singer
Because people are always surprised that I sing well.
It's not very often that people hear you sing
Although things like Rock Band have made it more common.
I tend to get it more when I'm visiting church
With new friends.
I'm singing along with the rest of the congregation
Striving to blend in
(Congregations encourage that)
And they'll turn to me and exclaim
(always in the tone of surprise!)
Hey! You have a good voice!
Yes...yes I do.