John News

a little note for you, so you see / when I'm gone, I never go too far

A Little Note for You

May 14, 2010

This post is for you, family. I’ve been thinking about you guys a lot these days.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of wussy folksy music. I think it started with Bob Dylan a while ago, but I also really like Denison Witmer. Here are the lyrics to a song of his:

Grandma Mary Mary, you are the bird inside the hand
of St. Francis in the garden where he stands.
Handwriting, a birth mark, and a quilt,
mother to my mother and to me. And to me.

Mary, you are the mason jars in spring,
the kitchen with the view across a hill.
First memory is a Bible verse in song,
the organ while my family sings along. We sing along.

And on the calendar when I leave
a little note for you, so you see
when I’m gone, I never go too far.
Your heart is my heart,
your blood, my blood.
When I’m gone, I never get too far.

Mother to my mother and to me.

I like the “a little note for you, so you see / when I’m gone, I never go too far” line. I updated the tagline to this blog accordingly.