Happy New Year! For the past several years, I’ve been writing homages to a wide range of people who have passed this year. The verses are in no particular order and some of them are well-known and many were unknown to me, but all of them led fascinating lives. These verses are not meant to … Read More
2020 R.I.P. Part Two
Witty, wise, completely iconic RBG’s demise so deeply ironic She loved equal rights, the Constitution But God just delights in retribution Because race held her back again and again And the deck was stacked by the world of men Emma Amos – all activism and art Just no way she could keep them apart The … Read More
Sondheim at 90
Sondheim at 90 His nature – not long in modestyAt eighteen he felt Broadway boundNo question he was a prodigyBut not all did he astound Oscar gave him a nuanced review:“Stephen, it’s terrible!”To Sondheim these words were newBut here’s what made it bearable: Line by line, the sword of Hammerstein The score bled red inkCould there … Read More
There Is No Baby
Else Blangsted 1920-2020 “There is no baby. The baby is dead.” How does anyone go on from there? Yet she finds a way, daily led From night too heavy to bear An infant who took no breath. Life within her, hidden, ashamed But a mother prefers her own death Rather then birth a child unnamed … Read More
Little Richard 1932-2020
Little Richard Click her for slideshow The “Little” was for his youth when he first heard the call Good Golly Miss Molly sure like to ball What did we just hear? Completely absurd But the Bible is clear, In the Beginning was the Word Whop bop b-luma b-lop bam bom What on earth? A guy … Read More
Little Richard
Little Richard 1932-2020 The “Little” was for his youth when he first heard the call Good Golly Miss Molly sure like to ball What did we just hear? Completely absurd But the Bible is clear, In the Beginning was the Word Whop bop b-luma b-lop bam bom What on earth? A guy with makeup and … Read More
My Mother Told Me
Click on above to play. Lyrics below. First song I’ve recorded using Garageband. My mama told me, “Son, ya gotta understand, you’re getting’ older, won’t be too long till you’re a man. Soon you’ll be goin’ and leave behind your family and I want you to know son just what it is you mean … Read More
2019 RIP Part 5 – Others
Press here for audio/visual Leavelle was cuffed to the killer of JFKLive television a grey matineeRuby rushed forward with his 38Conspiracy believers lying in wait All fathers are flawed, that’s a givenHe drank and he pawed and by ego was drivenBut what can we do, they’ve all we’ve gotJulia’s dad was the Sultan of Swat … Read More