WHY I MAKE YOU TAKE PIANO LESSONS
for Sam and Charlotte
—Lytton Bell, Sacramento
Because I cannot live forever, but need a way
to offer you comfort when you feel scared or sad or lonely;
in those lifting notes, I want you to feel my ghostly arms around you.
So that when life fails to seem beautiful, you can,
through the magic and strength and training of your own hands,
like the brightest rainbow after the fiercest storm, make beauty appear.
So that when your soul cries out for expression, you have a portal
through which your spirit can be born
wide-eyed into this world, and you will recognize—and claim it.
If you are at a boring party and don’t know anyone,
you can sit down at the piano and stun them all
until they love you unconditionally!
If you have to try out for a talent show, you never have to wonder:
What is my talent? And do I even have one?
You do.
Because it makes you dream. Because it makes you dare.
When you need wings, let the music you make carry you
as high as you desire to fly.
In life, nothing matters except what you create.
Create art.
Create joy.
There is birth; there is death—
and in-between those inevitable bookends
there is a wild cascade of ecstatic music!!!
Two people standing on the shore asked each other sadly: what does the water feel like?
Be the one who knows how the water feels, because you dove in!
Participate in the senses with your music. Contribute your verse.
A whole world you can get lost in.
A world you choose, full of ambrosia and angels.
A world you construct, note by note, and that can heal not just you, but anyone listening.
Be heard. I want to listen to you.
Through fear, through loss, no matter what is coming:
play, play your song.
_______________________
—Medusa