contour training

this life I envisioned
in my teens
as a solo bass player
wowing the crowds

I could conjure this image,
this silver fleeting flash
but could not hold on to it
for more than a moment
because I wasn't looking
beyond the superficial

contour training took me,
in the dark, with its
stark realities,
hurt so deep
I went dumb beyond
disbelief

in time,
a shape took place
a sparse outline
girders and frames
a life created
from sky earthward
like a building

with each footfall
it comes in clearer

the silver flash
from its reflecting exterior
burning back the light
of a sympathetic sun