Photograph courtesy of Eric Young
I heard them first when I was young.
And though they called to me,
the notes that I could see
perplexed me like a foreign tongue
and, out of fear, were left unsung.
I waited for the day
when I would discover a way
to untie that puzzling knot.
And in an effort to express
what I had heard inside
(and never meant to hide),
in many ways, I did progress;
with others’ music, I’d impress.
But I was still confined
by limits that others assigned,
which influenced how I thought.
I left them all unread —
those rhythms pounding in my head.
Mistaking what the others said
as what was right and true
has led me far away from you.
If what is past is gone,
I’ve no choice but to carry on.
For all the things to which I’m drawn
might be the way to find
the music that’s forever playing in my mind.
In order to climb up a rung,
I’ll have to step away
from how I used to play.
The stringent rules to which I’ve clung
could ever leave my song unsung.
So, now the time has come
to march to the beat of my drum
and forget what I’ve been taught.
They will not go unread —
these rhythms pounding in my head.
There is a reason I’ve been led
to do what I must do,
and it has brought me back to you!
I know what’s past is gone,
and I’ve the strength to carry on.
With darkness banished by the dawn,
I am no longer blind
to music that’s forever playing in my mind.
And when tempted to rewind,
as I miss what I left behind,
I hear a voice reminding me
that I am where I need to be
to capture and define the music of my mind.