When I heard them thirty years ago
even then they seemed to signify
both the frailty and permanence of what is .

And now , far inland , a younger player ,
(summoned , I wonder , by the calls of morning crows ? )
attempts to master the intricacies of scales ,
and now and then , with frequent hesitation ,
some known and popular melodies .

Time has passed , and my own time grows short.
But the ambition to make music still remains
and someone or other will go on playing :
rival to Gabriel and his ultimate call.