The Little Rocker That Grew

A short storem (story-poem) by Sergio Mendoza Hochmann

There once was a little rocker. He rocked with all his favorite bands, listening to their albums, day in, day out.

He rocked with the Crüe,
He rolled with Led Zep,
He rocked with Janis,
He rolled with Def Lep,
He rocked with Van Halen,
He rolled with the Stones,
As a matter of fact,
He rocked with all his heroes
Day in, day out.

He rocked at five,
To The Cars’ Drive,
To Stairway To Heaven,
He rocked at seven,
He rocked at nine,
To Sweet Child O’ Mine,
As a mater of fact,
He rocked with all his heroes
Day in, day out,

He rocked at sixteen,
With anything Queen,
He rocked at eighteen,
To anything Cream,
He rocked at twenty,
And there seemed to be plenty,
Of bands in the world,
Looking out for his soul,

He rocked at twenty-two,
To I Remember You,
He rocked at twenty-four,
To No More, No More,
He rocked at twenty-six,
To In The Sticks,
And there seemed to be plenty,
Of bands in the world,
Looking out for his soul.

One day, he finished college and thought:

“What am I gonna do with my life?
God didn’t give me musical abilities
And I don’t have a wife.
I could practice my profession
And be a lawyer to anyone who acts with no discretion.
But do I wanna be happy
Or just content with what comes my way?
I should do what I love
And if I can’t do that,
Then at least I can learn to love what I do.
It has to come from a place deep inside me,
Deep in my being
So I can finally start feeling.”

The decision came to him in a dream one night.
He knew when he woke up that he was probably right.
He couldn’t pluck guitar strings,
He could’t really be the one that sings,
He couldn’t play the drums
And playing the piano he even scared his mum.
But there was one job made for someone just like him.
A place that came to him on a deep night’s slumber’s whim.

He would be a “helper” of sorts
Working to make dreams happen every night.
He would be the one to say “yes” and the one to say “no”
To all the little girls wanting to hang around with the pros.

He would wake up in the morning
And listen to his favorite bands,
He would listen to their new songs
And be there when they land.

The time was finally here
And he got a backstage pass for the whole year
He was now one of the guys
Never having to live a life full of lies.
He was a roadie
And he was happy!

Next up: Do the initials WWRY mean anything to you?