Looking Back

Looking back, in fact, the performance

Is recent; in wonder; did my generation

Create such songs of beauty, of such depth

And beauty? I am grateful for having been

Alive during those times. They were turbulent

[their hair, look at their hair - gasps of horror]

Such a bad influence on our youth. Horror!!

Absurd, as it was; it happened, and maybe still happens

My emotional pendulum swings between extremes

A loving embrace, memories fond, and bittersweet

And dejected rejection, we “won’t be fooled again”

Who said that [Roger Daltrey], Who? The Who

On balance, there were good times, and there were bad

[let the sunshine in!]. We danced, free and unrestrained

We fell to the earth, exhausted; and got up again and again

We were young; it was our right [was it not?] to be foolish

Life was and is serious enough, obligation intrudes, interfere

Making demands and commands. Life is vibrant, three-D

Experience complements each other or opposes each other

All of them are relevant, presenting barriers or opportunities

Depending on how one views them. My emotional pendulum

Swings between extremes. Being philosophical is my defence

When things are good; things are good. When they are bad

It feels like death, the darkness I crawl through reciting the Bene Gesserit

Litany Against Fear, “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past 

I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.” From a book written in 1965, being re-discovered 50 years

Later, Frank Herbert’s Dune. Only I remain, think about. Emotions come as storms

Or peaceful Sunday afternoons. Storms pass, and Peaceful Sunday afternoons

Can happen once every week. Getting back to the music, ‘twas The Beatles

Not the group; two are with eternity. It was a Youtube video, “The Beatles, Tributo sinfónico”

An orchestral rendering and reinterpretation of The Beatles’ songbook. Magnificent.

Life is and was serious enough. You’ve conquered your fear. How many years

Do you have any left? Carpe diem, seize the day, shake it about. Does it scream & shout?

Or sing, quietly, “while my guitar gently weeps”.