Strangers Who Broke My Heart

John and Bobby Kennedy,

Took away my innocence.

Then Martin Luther King…

Another loss that made no sense.

Years later a Life cover,

Had Kermit in a director’s chair…

Orphaned and so alone,

Jim Henson was no longer there.

Eddie Rabbit and Jim Croce,

Wove our routines into a tune.

They celebrated our daily life,

Then both, gone all too soon. 

I miss the Carter Family,

June Carter and Mr. Cash…

George Straight and Tammy Wynette,

While I ate my grits and hash. 

Jim Varney, cut down in his prime;

His career from mach speed to zero.

Hey Ernest, it’s me and Vern…

You the buffoon, then always our hero.

Nancy Wilson was the artist,

Who sang perfectly off key…

Owning my soul for forty years,

While setting my spirit free.

Merle Haggard, an ass in real life,

Really hit those lower notes…

While showing off his softer side,

Those few lyrics won my votes.

Lastly, there was Leonard Cohen,

His words emboldened and elated…

I will never forget his legacy’s path,

Yet I am no less devastated.

I’ve yet to name my greatest loss;

I can’t measure the grief or how…

Now older myself, we’re equals ,

We’re here, at both sides now.