The first piano was plastic
Made for the fingers of little children
It had colorful keys
The sound it made was mesmerizing
But the joy on his mommy's face took his breath away
Some days she would take it out and play for him
Pretty songs, made for kids
But
As things are prone to do
It vanished
Destroyed by fire
And he never saw the joy on his mommy's face again.
The next piano was dusty
Sitting in a house for twenty years
It had warped keys
The sound it made was out of tune
But he played and it echoed throughout the empty house
Some days he would drop the guns and play it
Haunting songs of times past
But
When his dad said it was time to go
He left it alone
Abandoned with his last hopes
And his hands were kept busy with weapons and death.
The third piano was ornate
Created for the bejeweled hands of the first class
It had pristine keys
The sound it made was majestic
But he played it wearing the uniform of a handyman
Some days he would stop investigating the case to play
Classical songs made for such instruments
But
When he saw his brother watching in awe
He jumped away from it
The jangle of keys a parting kiss
And his brother wondered how much he didn't know about Dean
The final piano was heavenly
Made with joy to the sound of angels singing
It had glowing keys
The sound it made was indescribable
But the feeling it gave him was beyond compare
Throughout the rest of eternity he played the piano for his family
Beautiful songs of redemption
And
When he finished his song of contentment
He wept in happiness
Able to express his emotions without fear
And his family embraced him, the memories of life before death wiped away
The reward for their years of pain had finally come
And the angels fluttered around the family and smiled
Death had no sting
There was no more sacrifice required
The piano man had come home.