Weak Instruments

When people are playing in a band
they know the starring roles go to the trumpets
and the drums but when players

are relegated to the triangles or sand blocks
should they reconsider their goals
to choose a hobby that better utilizes their skills?

Perhaps they are content to be on the field
and on the bus going to all the events
with a talented ensemble wearing the same uniform

and marching along with real musicians
while they add the finer detail to each performance.

Whether it is the assembling at a funeral procession
on the streets of New Orleans or the selection

for a high school assembly to spur the team on

they are among the best, included because
they want to be, part of the glue that holds the band
together because their own ego is kept in abeyance

by the instrument they've chosen to play,
however weak it may be.