See, I know just how far I have to go (somewhere between really far and infinity)
I hear more or less what I sound like
I pay attention to the quality of what I'm putting out into the world
But I'm telling you that when I take the stage-
Or the street, or the sidewalk-
...I don't know, it's like I was meant for this stuff.
If only I'd started sooner...
But those thoughts are useless, because without him, there'd have been no me
At least not the me that I am now
And the me who isn't the me that I am now, well... she's not really me at all.
And if it was truly necessary to find him after 27 years of life had passed
Then it was well worth the wait
God! Take me back to that day when sweat and glitter that was not my own covered me
When we were nose-to-nose, strangers with squinting eyes and cheeks tight with intensity, as he screamed into my face and the afternoon sun-
He was saying, Come Follow Me.
My life veered sharply off its course. Captivated, I was captured.
For all the self-deprecating drivel that dribbles out of my mouth on impulse
My sense of pride is fierce, my sense of purpose firm, my heart swells with passion and self-belief
I don't think of him so often anymore,
But when I do, I love him again for a moment
My eyes close, my fingers fly uncharacteristically over the valves, and melodies ricochet off walls of surrounding buildings
The people around me look at me, betraying for a moment with their faces just how surprised they are that I have these songs within myself
As for me, I'm certain that I can do anything with a trumpet in my hands
If not now, someday.