what a lucky boy am I...

if you came down the cul de sac leading to our house
you'd see a sloping driveway lined with blossoming bradford
pear trees and the front of our brick house,
but you'd only be seeing the top floor of the house
until you drove around back where you would see a second floor,
the downstairs, which is fully devoted to StudioBelew.
that's why we bought this house.
upstairs a home. downstairs a business.

the downstairs studio has a connected living space
(we call it the fripp suite since robert is there so often)
with a full bath, half kitchen, office space, private entrance.
the studio itself is one recording room, and one control room.
both have been extensively altered for correct acoustics.
outside behind the house are beautiful flower gardens,
a 25-foot pond with a waterfall and connected deck,
a walking path, a fountain, and a firepit.
all surrounded by woods and a small stream.

underneath the trees there's a little stream,
and that's where I go to dream*.

so no matter what madness occurs upstairs
(kids bounding, phones blinging, tv's blaring)
the downstairs studio remains my clean safe haven.
and my backyard, a little slice of paradise.

last night sitting out on the warm deck
I looked up at the stars and saw the big and little dippers.
a fine breeze stirred through the woods
and in the distance a train wailed my favorite sound.
and I thought, "what a lucky boy am I".

*"in my backyard" from op zop too wah