Last Wednesday we saw a wonderful concert by Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. He played without an opening act. He played songs and interacted with the audience for two hours. Then he came out for an encore that consisted of another six or seven songs. We were captivated. Fifty years of practice of his craft made Billy Joel a master artist and performer. In the picture above you see him in the center, sitting at the piano.

I couldn’t help it. I had to write a poem for him:

The Piano Man

Sing us a song, you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feelin’ alright.

Madison Square Garden is a giant place
And we all came to hear you tonight
Twenty thousand of us were in unison
We were rocking with your music and light.

We were old, we were young, we were fired up
To hear the old songs for the heart
You lived up to what we expected of you
You did so much more than your part.

You have practiced your craft a half century
The master in you showed grand
You sang and you played for hours on end
We tuned into you and your band.

Together we hummed the old melodies
And swayed to the beat and the light
We felt great all being together there
Before we left at the end of the night.

Sing us a song, you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feelin’ alright.