The Magpie
You love the having, and the having is no sin.
A shelf of shining things, and you the happy thief —
the having is the joy, and joy is no mischief.
The nest is lined with bright objects, each one carried home for the gleam of it. You like the survey: the reading, the comparing, the spec sheets pored over like maps to countries you may never visit. You like the box, the manual, the smell of a new panel. The collection is a garden, and tending it is its own quiet pleasure.
(No one needs all of this gear. The Magpie has never once mistaken "need" for the point. The point is the glint, and the glint is allowed.)
A library of instruments, openly loved for what it is, owes nobody an apology. Plenty of fine musicians are also happy collectors, and the two get along just fine.
Next Steps: In plainer terms
- You love the collection. That's allowed.
- Go look, read, and compare — without guilt.
- Admire the panel. Read the manual you'll never need.
- Enjoy it on its own terms. It doesn't have to "pay off."
The only honest question is the gentle one in the margin below — and it's yours to answer, in your own time, or not today.
Go and enjoy the survey.
The only question the Mirror ever asks here is the gentle one: is the gear-love owned, or is it standing in for a song you keep meaning to make? A collection you enjoy passes easily. Only you can answer, and you don't have to answer today.
fin