The
Old Piano Down the Hallway
There was this old
piano down the hallway. We used to play
on it for what seemed to be like all day.
Life was bright. Life was gay. Life seemed to be perfectly okay. It was at Best Station which made for the
best of any vacation where family would greet to meet. We certainly had more than anyone could eat! Everyone seemed to be spry on their
feet. We moved in a groove. We mused the music and soaked in what seemed
to be divine sunshine. This was the best
of any pantomime.
This was a time of
peaches and plum patches and grandma scolding us for playing with matches. Uncle Amp had come back from the war with
what we came to know as a high fidelity stereo.
I think Uncle Frost came back with a Corvette and the bad habit of
smoking cigarettes. Uncle Slick had
nabbed a cab and would drive you anywhere if you paid the fare. It was like none of us had a worry or a
care. There was the crispness of joy in
the air. It was a place in my closet
space and I still wish to be there.
There would be this smattering
of a gathering down the hallway. There
was this old piano that everyone wanted to play. It was like the joyful lesson of a jam
session where everybody yearned to learn.
We made those piano keys burn! We'd
go with a solo, then a trio and then all aboard the keyboard to where if a lion
roared he would be ignored! Nobody was
bored. We sang. We danced and I think we all had ants in our
pants! No one tired because the synergy
of the energy seemed to never expire.
Even with a sour note the moment was so sweet to cherish that no one was
ever embarrassed.
The tone was one to own
and with it no one ever felt alone. It's
what I've come to know as a permanent echo that warms my whole soul. It is a time that I will forever extol. It has all come to be of what I dream to see
of an old piano down the hallway that we
all used to play. It was a time when we
sat down to pray. It was when forever
was packed into a day. It's why for me a
melody is not a mystery and that's because it's become a permanent part of
me. So when ya'll look down the hallway
think of the echo of an old piano and in a blur how young and joyful we were.
Orrin K. Loftin,
Explorer
Copyright? When
the sound of ivory keys echoes in the breeze.
July 19th,
2013
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