This poem started out as a tribute to my love of music, especially the hard rock I grew up with, now referred to as “classic rock.” I remember when I was thirteen or fourteen, during summers off from school, I would stay up long into the early morning hours spinning my favorite records loudly, lying on the floor in front of my little hi-fi stereo with the headphones plugged into the auxiliary input. Every now and then I would lift the headphones off my ears to make sure the auxiliary plug had not pulled out from the stereo and was filling the house with music, as that used to happen fairly easily due to the short cords. The band Kiss may have wanted to rock and roll all night, but my family did not.
It was about that same age that my best friend Keith and I fell hard for the Canadian trio known as Rush, and we were fortunate enough to see them together in our first concert in 1980. This experience solidified our friendship forever. The music of Rush, and the lyrics of the late, great drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart, have carried me through both good and bad times throughout my life. I have gone on to see them numerous times (unfortunately without my sidekick Keith, as we live in different states now). I’ve never related so much to a band, as they were sort of odd and quirky, and a bit of an outcast band, and I would describe myself the same way. They moved to the beat of their own drum and that’s how I’ve always lived my life. I’m sometimes amazed when I think back and realize how long ago that night was, and how fast time has gone. Their song “The Garden” was the last song on their final album, and the lyrics emphasize how much we need to nurture our relationships because time is always ticking away. This is a message I carry with me every day.
Keith and I went on to see many concerts together, including seeing the band Genesis a few times, and almost catching Phil Collins backstage. Something I’ll never forget about Genesis happened at one of their concerts. There was a couple sitting next to us at one of the shows, and while we were waiting for the band to come onstage, we struck up a conversation with them. They told us how they had come to be Genesis fans. Genesis had released an album in March 1978 called And Then There Were Three . . . This couple had been blessed with four children, but unfortunately one of them committed suicide. They discovered later, on this deceased child’s turntable, the album And Then There Were Three . . . The couple wasn’t sure if this was an intentional message left behind by the deceased, indicating the three children that remained, or just a coincidence. So they started listening to the album, and their love for the band was born. This is just another story about how much music can, and does, impact our lives.
After I started writing this poem, I realized how much other things in our lives describe us and who we are, how we live our lives, and what we believe in. Everything from the kind of car you drive to your favorite color paints a picture of you. This isn’t always the case, as perhaps you drive an economy car because you travel a lot for work, but your true love is a pickup truck or a fast race car. Maybe you prefer wearing darker shades of clothing, but your personality is really more like fuchsia—bright and vibrant. So the things we pick out in life don’t always describe our character or personality, and things can change throughout the day, or even by the hour. Suddenly, we find we’re feeling more like that slow-moving car, sluggish and in need of coffee, rather than that race car we were feeling like that morning. There are many facets to our personalities, and we can quickly shift from one mood to another, but at heart we usually stay pretty true to our character throughout our lives.
So how would you describe yourself? It would be interesting to know if people would describe you the same way.
Describe Yourself
If you could name a song
That is the soundtrack of your life,
Would it be upbeat and happy,
Or dark and filled with strife?
Would it be an old country song
Where the singer lost it all?
Or a buoyant, chipper tune
That has you bouncing off the wall?
Could it be “The Sound of Music,”
Or perhaps “My Favorite Things?”
Would it be “The Sound of Silence,”
And the calmness that song brings?
Would it be melancholy,
Such as something like “Hey Jude;”
A song that people tend to play
When they’re in a downcast mood?
If you could pick a color
That describes the state of you,
Would it be a darker gray
Or a vibrant shade of blue?
Would you pick a common color,
Or would you go off the chart?
Something like cerulean
would really set you apart.
Would you blend into the background
Like sepia or brown?
Or perhaps you’d be more vibrant,
Like the colors of a clown.
If you could be a car
Would you be a fast Corvette?
Or would you focus on economy—
Remember the old Chevette?
Would you be reliable?
Or would you always need repair?
I guess that symbolizes life;
From time to time we all need care.
If you could be a flower,
Would you be a gorgeous rose,
Or a sturdy, solid daylily
That could handle what life throws?
Would you be a sunflower
With your face aimed to the sky?
Or are you a forget-me-not,
Hiding in shade when folks walk by?
Would you be an evening primrose
Blooming into the night,
Or more like morning glory
That blossoms at first light?
If you put on a mood ring
Would it show that you’re relaxed,
Or would the colors darken,
To indicate you’re taxed?
How do you get those colors
To read more blue and green?
Each hour could be different,
And show something in between.
For no matter where we are right now,
It can change throughout the day.
Our mood, our song, our colors adapt
To things that come our way.
Sometimes we are that fast Corvette,
Other days we chug along.
Sometimes we sing a happy tune,
Other times it’s a tear-filled song.
At times we’re basking in the sun,
On occasion we seek shade.
Some days we walk the path alone,
Or we might join the parade.
We can be the tough flower,
While also the pretty rose.
I think the key is finding balance,
As life ebbs and flows.
It is okay to be flexible
And to roll with the tide,
As long as you are staying true
To whom you are inside.
-K.A. Bloch-
