FOR BERT on FATHER’S DAY
Bert
1951- 2001
Father of my children, old warrior, mystic.
We love you still, and thank you for
Your brilliance,
Your music,
Your way with water and stars,
Your gift of humor.
Thinking of you always,
Thinking of you on
Father’s Day.
Paradise
by Bruce Springsteen
Where the river runs to black
I take the schoolbooks from your pack
Plastics, wire and your kiss
The breath of eternity on your lips
In the crowded marketplace
I drift from face to face
I hold my breath and close my eyes
I hold my breath and close my eyes
And I wait for paradise
And I wait for paradise
The Virginia hills have gone to brown
Another day, another sun goin' down
I visit you in another dream
I visit you in another dream
I reach and feel your hair
Your smell lingers in the air
I brush your cheek with my fingertips
I taste the void upon your lips
And I wait for paradise
And I wait for paradise
I search for you on the other side
Where the river runs clean and wide
Up to my heart the waters rise
Up to my heart the waters rise
I sink 'neath the river cool and clear
Drifting down I disappear
I see you on the other side
I search for the peace in your eyes
But they're as empty as paradise
They're as empty as paradise
I break above the waves
I feel the sun upon my face
_______________________
5 comments:
I am left with love for my father - thanks!
This brought tears to my eyes as I looked at the contours of his handsome face remembering his strength and brilliance, and your words of gratitude to him kept the tears flowing. I was touched by his life on this earth, as I continue to be touched by yours, Laura.
Laura - from my perspective as a father, what a wonderful tribute to Bert. And as I read the words of The Boss and thought of the context, I couldn't help but think of a James Taylor song that was inspired by his brother Alex' passing. "Enough to be On Your Way" with a short intro by James himself. Lyrics below....I miss you!
JT on Sony.com: My brother Alex died in '93 on (not for) my birthday. We all went down to Florida to say goodbye. The day after we flew home (the day after his cremation) a giant mother hurricane followed us north through the Carolina's; trashing everything in its path and finally raining record rains on Martha's Vineyard (home).
In Paris, a year later I changed his character to a hippie chick named Alice and the location to Santa Fe; but my soulful older brother is still all over this song like a cheap suit.
"The sun shines on this funeral
The same as on a birth
The way it shines on everything
That happens here on Earth
It rolls across the western sky
And back into the sea
And spends the day's last rays
Upon this fucked-up family
So long old pal
The last time I saw Alice
She was leaving Santa Fe
With a bunch of round-eyed Buddhists
In a killer Chevrolet
Said they turned her out of Texas
Yeah she burned 'em down back home
Now she's wild with expectation
On the edge of the unknown
CHORUS:
Oh it's enough to be on your way
It's enough just to cover ground
It's enough to be moving on
Home, build it behind your eyes
Carry it in your heart
Safe among your own
They brought her back on a Friday night
Same day I was born
We sent her up the smoke stack
And back into the storm
She blew up over the San Juan mountains
And spent herself at last
The threat of heavy weather
That was what she knew the best
CHORUS
It woke me up on a Sunday
An hour before the sun
It had me watching the headlights
Out on highway 591
'Til I stepped into my trousers
'Til I pulled my big boots on
I walked out on the Mesa
And I stumbled on this song
CHORUS"
Laura - Bert has left wonderful children and that is a tribute to him and also to you. Your continuing love for him and who he was is touching to the soul. Thank you for your wonderful remembering as a reminder to us all of the best we can be! Love, Nick
Thank you all for your beautiful thoughts. I wish you all had known him the way that we did. It is good to see how much, even in memory, he is still an opening for love expressed.
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