A Poem (For Jeff)

You pull the mojo pin on your grenade.

I see your soul escape its callous shell

and seep into my mind

and into my heart.

Mingling with my very own soul.

It leads me through the tangles of neurons

to a tranquil place

Soul to soul.

It whispers in a godly falsetto.

A note lasting an eternity

wandering into future eons.

It utters,

“Kiss me. Please, kiss me”

I do.

It fiercely pulls away

Tears begin slowly trickling down its silvery face

as it struggles for a thing to say

“I know that in time, I’ll only make you cry.”

All placidness was lost as it bolted away

back into its shell.

The warm lights dimmed and faded

“No,” I say “this isn’t over.”

“This will not be your last goodbye”

A Tribute to Jeff Buckley

Technical ability in the music world can only take you to a certain point before something unexplainable from outside the four walls of a practice room, or perhaps from deep within the musician occupying the room, has to take over and lead you the rest of the way. You can call it “soul” or “spirit”, or maybe it’s something otherworldly that inspires the artist. Whatever it might be, this force coupled with outstanding technique is what truly great musicians are made of. This force guides the fingers across the fretboard, tugs at the vocal cords, and controls every musical step of the artist. Jeff Buckley, I believe, is unquestionably one of those artists who was in complete control of this force.

Jeff Hanneman - R.I.P.

Yesterday, the metal world lost another legend in the form of Slayer's Jeff Hanneman to sudden liver failure, coming as a surprise to me as well as the collective heavy metal community. Some are speculating that his liver failure may have something to do with a nasty spider bite he got in 2011, but as of right now nothing has been officially disclosed. He didn't quite have the celebrity status of second lead guitarist Kerry King, but everyone needs to remember that it was Hanneman, not King, who wrote all your favorite Slayer songs, chiefly, that one little song called "Raining Blood" which was the first Slayer song I ever heard as a kid.