I CANNOT GO WITHOUT MY OBOE

by James Hamilton-Lugo

It's going to snow?  

In case the roof caves in, where's my oboe?

I don't care about products in my hair

I just need my oboe for my flare

I play it fast, play it slow

It doesn't matter how--but where I am, it too must go.

It's music I need, music for my soul

Without my oboe, life goes into a hole

It keeps me up, happy and alive

Without it into sadness I would dive

I must have it, 

My music, my theme, my song

No, I cannot go--not here nor there

Not without my oboe! 

I need one for college very soon

My oboe music makes my heart swoon

I want to teach others to play

I want to be a music teacher someday.

Regal sounds of a queen's procession

My oboe can make an impression

Thunderous vibes of a classical march

My heart and my oboe together charge.

Into a classroom we will someday go

Me with my oboe where we can play

And where our path leads to charm the class I teach

To help others love music and into high inspiration reach!  

But when the senior year is done

My oboe, my friend --we were one

It goes back to the high school storage

And without the oboe

I don’t know

Will I be a wreckage?

A new one must arrive 

So I don't take a dive

I must have it for fall

When the first class of college calls.

I fill out scholarships and write a poem

And jump through hoops with decorum 

I must have money for college so I can go

I cannot go without an oboe!