Drumming Back Then

Delivering mail was the nine to five

With bills to pay

It was well short of the glamorous life

He had been a musician since he was young

Didn’t care for guitars

Didn’t care about the way he sung

Drumming had grabbed him right away

Counting rhythms out loud

And learning how to play

Dreamed of moving to Nashville

To aid in that Nashville sound

But life moves fast

And his chance never came around

He still plays on the weekend

To make some spare change

It is more just a simple means

To a simple end

But he wonders of what life could have been

Had he jumped off the deep end

Learning to swim as he goes

Where this all would take him

He truly does not care to know

I met him buying some drums

Sells them out of his basement

Best guy in Indiana

Drums that sound like true cannons

I believe his story and feel it quite familiar

A story told by so many players similar

Never wanted to test the waters

Looking back years later

With thoughts of what could have been

Of what life was life

And what opportunities life provided

Back then

Rest

This was written after a couple of weeks on the road. This trip included all of the major music hubs in the U.S. (in my humble opinion of course and for our particular genre). We had stops in New York, Chicago, L.A. and Nashville. We finally got to the end of our journey to a log cabin up in the woods on Traverse City, MI and I slept for basically 48 hours. At the end of the sleep I was able to get up and write some words that needed to be written down. They came to me in a early morning haze. So here it is a poem on rest – enjoy!

Rest

There is one thing that unifies

This no one can contest

That when we fall asleep

The mind now at rest

The heart

Beats

And beats

And beats

To no similar tune

But in similar fashion

The mind at rest

I can attest

This is the best

Way to connect to each other

There are no preconditions

No medication

Or temptation

For one to connect

To others

Through this sensation

Of mind cessation

Temporary of course

But this might lead a course of action

To rest away the weary eyes

To come to negotiation anew

Many a times it has worked for me

And surely will do the same for you

Lights out in gentle style

Let the mind take the lonely mile

And hearts beat sustain throughout the night

And in the morning

Everything will be alright