The Walk Down a Stadium Hall

It’s time again.

Time to go make my impact on the world,

I huddle with my bandmates as we hype each other up.

We aren’t new to this. But I still get the jittery feeling.

The same feeling I got when I started playing almost 40 years ago.

40 years. Not many bands stick together that long,

We have been through so much together,

But we still stick together.

These men are my family.

I trust them more than anyone else on this planet

It’s about that time again.

We take the walk out to the stage.

It’s mere feet but it feels like an eternity to walk to,

My brain second guesses itself,

It tells me to “turn around,”

But my feet carry me all the way to that sacred place.

I hear the crowd roaring,

They chant our names,

It echoes throughout the stadium,

The stagehand hands me my weapon of choice,

A mighty ax. The guitar,

I look around and I see my brothers.

Lars, Kirk, Rob,

And Cliff who is no longer with us on this earth,

But I know Cliff is with us every time we take the stage.

Now it’s that time,

I nod to my brethren,

Lars counts us off,

And like a moth into a flame

A simple note sets the whole stadium off.