Sic Semper Tyrannis

Poesy

I don't know how many of you know this, but in my later college years, I fancied myself a bit of a poet, primarily because of the encouragement of one of my teachers. It never felt quite right, though, kind of like I was faking the funk so I abandoned it all. (Of course, I get all kinds of creative outlet with the band, so it's no big loss.) Here's an old one that's sort of on-topic.

On Love and a Silver-Plated Mouthpiece

The course of true love never did run smooth (A Midsummer Night’s Dream I.1.134)


It’s funny,
I still remember all those years as a trumpet student.

I learned from weathered gurus
who knew a thing or two
Like Jesus and his crew
or Confucius and his league of would-be gentlemen.

And we all had the same goal-
a
s u s t a i n e d
emoted
musical moment with complete control

And like the Son of Man
My last teacher’s disciples had their varying potentials and personalities.
I know some of us had gotten really good at going through the motions over the years

But mostly,I remember:

-The Golden Boy-

He used to tell all of us green-horns about this blissful other side
where,
apparently,
if you practiced all the right nebulous exercises and scales enough times
and could be knowledgeable, yet not threatening,
in conversation with the right people-
you could actually get PAID for that harmonious,
s u s t a i n e d,
moment of inner peace and beauty
emoted with complete control.

Yet I guess I never got over the fact that it was six o’clock on a snowy, winter morning and I was firmly pressing a piece of metal against my face.

posted by Mike @ 1:01 PM