Climbing Uphill

View from the Pyranees, 2013

You slog uphill
Drill notes
Please memorize
Count
Project! 
Energize to the end of the line
Trying to get a long and tricky piece together
With limited rehearsal
And you think it could never come together
Was it this hard last year?
You just about give up
And then suddenly
"Suddenly"
The day before the show
There it is!
Harmonies rich and full
Soaring and lovely

And before you even realize it
The performance is over
And the relief
The weight off your shoulders
The view of
The shining happy faces of kids who have felt the spotlight
Known what it is to rehearse
And stand before other people
And sing/dance/act/play
(Often at the same time!)
Is worth
The uphill climb it took
To get there

The end.