DRESS REHEARSAL

Listen! Music fills a room
Like soft sunlight through sheer lace curtains
And those simple youthful melodies are played
Time and time again.

At first with fumbling fingers
And then with practiced perfection
The work soon becomes second nature.
The notes have not changed but the student has.

With each lesson learned another page is turned
And the cycle begins anew.
The young ones observe those older
And follow in their path.

Each maestro has their mentor
And each pupil their faithful fan.
There is pleasure in each performance
Be it childish or complex.

And we seem to enjoy the recitals most
Not when judged in a contest,
But rather when shared in a concert,
Where every soul resonates with a music uniquely its own,

A music which becomes richer
As it harmonizes with that of others.
Our life is but a picture within a picture,
A single note within a score.

Let us use it well.
Let us seek to learn and then learn to share
So that each day is a dress rehearsal
For a grand performance yet to come!

Greg Olsen