I Am Blessed
By Jim Stewart, c2016
I hear the sound of music
Playing in my head.
The melodies sound so familiar
But, I can't recall the words.
Many nights I practiced
Note by note and chord by chord.
Oh to play but one more note
When my hands don't know where to go.
"Damn" this body that father time has repossessed
Why me? I think.
I hear music and I hear laughter
Chasing after me.
A bright light shines on me, now
Yes, I am blessed to be me.
As a youth, I struggled to play the piano accordion the way my parents wanted me to. But I found the strength required to move the bellows and the ambidextrous asynchronous playing of the keys with both hands such a chore, that while I love to still have music playing through my mind and singing (loudly) I am grateful that I never played well and gave it up. Because, with paralyzed hands and arms at 21, I would have mourned the loss like this poem does for Shereye.
Ron
you are still very blessed!