Shine, My Heart, My Violinist!

When it came to selecting an instrument to play, 8-year-old, Shine, chose the violin. In the book, the girl who once proficiently and beautifully played strings takes a 15-year hiatus to the dismay of her only living parent, her father Mel. "All it takes is practice," he urges. But she would rather sing than play the violin. This poem reminisces on her past performances and "dinner and accolades" and the sadness that emerges from the silence between father and daughter.