Thirty kids in a room on a Monday I asked who wants the lights and the long career Two hands, only two went up Funny how the quiet tells you why they're here So we left the gear and stood outside Tapped a shoulder, held an eye, said three plain words I've got your back, that's where it starts Before the camera, before a single frame gets heard No but, yes but, yes and Same kid, same pitch, watch what the words can do One shuts the door, one steals it slow One builds it bigger and hands it back to you Back inside I made him pitch And I no-butted every line until he stalled Then I smiled and yes-butted him Agreed with all of it and took the whole thing, that's the worst one of them all Then one more time, and I said yes and He gave me a kid who finds a thing that's alive And we built it in the air between us Bigger every hand-off, you should have seen the way he thrived No but, yes but, yes and Same kid, same pitch, watch what the words can do One shuts the door, one steals it slow One builds it bigger and hands it back to you Five days, five minutes, iPhones and a laptop Due in front of the people who raised them on Friday night Talent won't carry a crew through that Only the ones who answer each other right And write it down, how you want to feel Keep it private in the back where no one looks When the week gets heavy, when you start to break Open it up and read yourself, that's the trick behind the books Same kid, two words, the whole thing turns That's the lesson I hope outlasts the year It's why I make the drive every June To a ranch full of kids who don't yet know they're here
