Poem for Laura Nyro

you were haunting, elusive, bitter, sweet
your hair was long, dark, lost, lonely
you sang the scars of the streets

And when I die..
Love is surely gospel
New York tendaberry…
and the past is a blue note

I wanted to embrace you
as I drowned in your lovely
soulful primal songs

Spring whispered in her ear…
upstairs by a China lamp
La la la la la la
I tasted heaven and hell

you welcomed me to
the nocturnal chaos of
a vibrant, tormented, joyous city

Bleed a little…Til your freedom calls you
You found the system and you lost the pearl
I guess I’m just
a child of the universe

and now you’re gone

but
your
music
lives
on

--NJV (1994; rev.2021-2022)