32 Piano man He told about the news stories. But it was in a different sort of way, making unspeakable tragedies a little easier to say. Children dying in their schools. People are fighting in the streets. We hear about it every day but never ask what's behind the scenes. Schools were ravaged by bullets as he played along and sang, and his honey voice could be heard from miles and miles away. "One man's trash is another's treasure One man's treasure is another's pain One man's pain is another's pleasure And so it goes on that way..." He wore his treasures on his left wrist, Bracelets tied with stones and string. His right hand he used to create music, unburdened by heavy stone rings. He said his left hand was for decoration - for protecting and for holding. His right hand was for calluses - for playing, for writing, for working. And every night he told us stories of his life before the war: before gay marriage, before civil rights, before all that's worth fighting for. He sang songs from the chain gangs. He sang jazz, he sang blues, and for a moment we forgot who we were listening to. A man who knew everything, who fell down and still flew. A man who, in the face of adversity, never strayed from the truth. We called him the "Piano Man," a name that made him smile. His aged and tired eyes would light up, piercing their wire-rimmed borders. His lips would curl at the corners in a manner almost juvenile. He told us that we were the future, that the world'd be ours in a while. He was a man with so much love it burst through his fingertips, spilled out onto the keyboard with nothing to hide. He played all kinds of music, about how he couldn't see the color of his eyes, about years living in oppression, About his life after his mother died About life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The world, he said, is losing herself She grows weak from hearing us cry And before we reduce her even further We must take a look at what's on the inside. What's behind the scenes Of these horrible things? What is wrong? What does it mean? He looks for the answers, sitting at his keyboard The Piano Man, playing music for free.