|
"Colors"
Somewhere in L.A.
Somewhere in L.A. is a boy who sees colors
in his head when he’s just hanging out with his dreams.
He sees colors for notes, whole rainbows
weaving and twisting and repeating again, and again
to form a giant, moving tableau of musical schemes.
When he was very young, he played the colors
bending, twisting them to make them fill his head.
And one day, he asked his mother,
“What do you do with the colors you see?”
“Some days,” said she, “I just stay in bed.”
“But don’t be foolish, you are too young to have my dreams,
go outside, stay out of my way, I have no time for you today!”
So one day in school, he asked his teacher,
“What does it mean, what do you call
the colors you see for notes this way?”
“What do you mean, colors for notes?” she demanded,
“Notes are notes, that’s all they are!”
Well, I see colors and they make music,
for all the players in a band
that play a melody from a place too far.
“Don’t be foolish, you can’t see music, it’s just an excuse,
stop dreaming and get to work,” his teacher said.
“And don’t bother me with your silly ideas.”
But the notes go on and on
Colors for the music pounding in his head.
He tried to make his mother proud but school was just a waste of time.
There was more outside, more things he could do.
Like petty theft, and small time crime and dealing drugs
to his classmates who used to laugh at him for dreaming.
But now they paid him, and paid him well, too!
Sometimes he wrote the words and notes that filled his head.
with sharps and flats, and circles of fifths,
in waves like storm breaking on the shore.
Of a rain washed mountain in the spray and foam
with wind singing in the cliffs.
In those moments he forgot this life,
and for a time became once more.
The court musician, the favored son,
who sang and danced for all to see
what lies behind the shuttered door.
The colors came more rarely now
as though to spare the boy.
From despair of dreams he could not keep
to choices he dare not make.
Published: Oct 12,2008 16:41
|
Andy Cowan
Andy Cowan, an award-winning writer, whose credits include Cheers and Seinfeld, regularly contributes humor pieces to the Los Angeles Times and the CBS Jack FM Radio Network.
Paul M. J. Suchecki
Paul M. J. Suchecki has more than 30 years of experience as an award winning writer, producer, and cameraman. He's written numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Currently he writes, produces and shoots for LA CityView Channel 35 and his more than 250 articles for Ehow.com are approaching half a million readers.
Coby Kindles
Coby Kindles is a freelance journalist, screenplay writer and essayist. She has been a staff writer at Knight Ridder and a regular contributor to The Associated Press.
Debbie Milam
Debbie Milam is a syndicated columnist for United Press International, an occupational therapist, family success consultant, and motivational speaker with more than 20 years experience. Her work on stress management, spirituality, parenting, and special-needs children has been featured in over 300 media outlets including First for Women, The Miami Herald, Elle, Ladies Home Journal, The Hallmark Channel, PBS and WebMD.
Dan Rafter
Dan Rafter has covered the residential real estate industry for more than 15 years. He has contributed real estate stories to the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Business 2.0 Magazine, Home Magazine, Smart HomeOwner Magazine and many others.
Jack Nargundkar
Jack Nargundkar has been repeatedly published in Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. He is also an author of "The Bush Diaries" published in July 2005.
|