And I could tell them
About all the beats
And the breathing
And the running
And the coverdowns
And how we did the same same thing every day.
I could say all the times
I was told
It wasn’t good enough
And how I had to keep going
Until it was
More than good
More than excellent
If they stayed long to listen I’d tell
About how I used to be afraid
When it got so tough
When I thought I was breaking
And how I had to learn
Shattered as I was
To put myself back together
And I’d tell about the time
I found my friend
Who’d struggled and cracked
Sitting with dust in their eyes
So close to giving in
How I sat down beside them
And gave them strength to go on
Because you don’t ever just let someone
Fall away
But I don’t say any of that
Because so many people don’t know
What it’s like
To be so alive
In all the dimensions of time
So I say
Drum corps taught me
To live life
Better
But by the time it is said
They have walked away
They have left our dangling conversation
To be surrounded by a life
That they will always understand
And will never truly live.
Did you write this?
Yes, this is my work 🙂 Myself and others have posted it on tumblr in the past month so it has been floating around there as well. My tumblr is http://wordsurfingwizard.tumblr.com/
As a drum corp mom, I am continuously overly amazed and in awe of the work ethic and spirit of the drum corp young adults. While I will never understand what drives them to participate in this activilty that requires them to dedicate 16 plus hours a day all summer long to perfecting their collective performance and continuously strive for excellence without any consideration for how and where or when they sleep and eat. They are the most considerate group of you young people you would ever meet. They totally give of themselves to the activity and couldn’t be more proud..