There aren't many poems that move me, but whenever this pops into my playlist I get a little chill and a tear in my eye.
I've been thinking a lot about friendship lately and what it means to me. And even though I talk a ton, I sometimes struggle to find words to fit my feelings. Bob somehow manages to say the things I'm feeling better than I ever could.
Woodie was one of Bob's heroes in his early life and shaped his music and future more than any other individual. They became friends later until Bob's fame greatly eclipsed that of Woodie, but in this piece you can hear his humility and love for his dying friend.
I also am humbled by my friends and honored to call them such. And perhaps it's true that most artists are their own greatest critics, and also their own worst enemies. We struggle with a hyper sensitivity that could almost be classified as a syndrome. I think maybe we need friends more than most.
But anyway, here he is eulogizing his friend and mentor, Bobby D.
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