Light Keepers
Spent an evening last Saturday in the company of a group of young musicians. They were contestants in a contest, but it was hard to tell from the laughter and overflowing camaraderie the winners from losers. They were simply musicians. Young. Full of life. Little fountains of potential. There were libations and a good fire, so they sat around and sang to one another late into the night.
As I watched them and listened, I thought about what they might expect from their lives to come. Would there be success or failure or both. Children. Families. Loves won and lost. Hard decisions. Hard choices. Would they have luck? They’ve experienced some of this already, I’m sure. But when they get to my age, if they get to my age, would they look back with satisfaction or regret or maybe a mixture of the two?
I felt alternately happy and sorry for them for no reason other than knowing how life is. Unfair at times. Capricious at others. Random. And I knew that many find it hard to make it through, while others have an instinct for survival. But in the end, I knew they were poets and I was grateful they were there because the world needs poets, the singers of songs and the tellers of tales. I just hope they have the power to prevail and keep the light alive and know they are loved for what they do.