Laura hosts Meeting the Bar in the dVerse Poets Pub .. inviting us to write an epistolary letter / poem in verse or prose form.
You are most deserving of my everlasting gratitude
in 1955, at the tender age of fourteen, I entered high school
an aspiring "first chair" flautist in the nationally acclaimed
Collinsville Illinois High School Band.
Three national championships and barred from National competition
so what did you do, took our show on the road
Niagara Falls, Pikes Peak, a new destination each Spring
four Greyhound Busses packed with kids, chaperones, instruments
concert venues, standing ovations, encores, quite the head rush.
Those tours taught me more than you could know
how to quell stage fright, how to feel joy in performing
an appreciation for music in all its myriad forms
you made me a better musician, encouraged my talent, believed in me
and yes, made my dream of playing "first chair flute" come true.
I'm old now, Professor Kreider, as were you when first we met
my embouchure is compromised, muscle tone has diminished
hitting high notes close to impossible
something I could never have imagined as a teen.
I am blessed with countless memories .. musicians who are still friends
endless stories .. shared with my children and grandchildren
actually .. anyone willing to listen ..
YOU, Dear Professor, made that possible.
Fondly,
Your favorite flautist
Helen Louise Klenke
[ Dehner today ]