YOUR LIFE-TOUCH
In your all-too-brief time on
this big blue ball,
You touched so many,
influenced so much.
Honest as the rain. Deeper than the ocean.
Brilliant and confident and
humble.
Intellectual and humanitarian.
Direct. Witty.
To say you were talented is to
describe the sky as big.
You taught, mentored. You
enhanced and improved all with whom you performed.
You played anything and
everything in any needed key,
And often on a keyboard that
was held together with duct tape and a promise.
If ever ivories were really
tickled, I’m sure it was you who made it happen!
Your fingers danced like a
chorus line!
You wrote, you played, you
sang, and all so beautifully, and yet,
You stepped aside to share
the light when the time came for others to shine.
You rarely, if ever, left
anyone wondering what you were thinking.
You freely spoke your mind,
without a worry about anyone disagreeing.
Your sugar was the sweetest
ever, and your acid just as bitter.
We watched you in awe.
We listened to you with
amazement and envy.
We read your brilliant
political rants and wished we’d said
those things!
And now, my friend, like the
best in show business, you’ve once again left us wanting more.
Well played, Ricky.
Well played.
George
F. Hoffman
2016
