Long Lasting Long

For Neil Young

The harvest moon,

bright at the brink of sunset,

lingers lazily over farm fields,

light letting work last a little longer,

long, long road from Kent to Malibu:

cerebral palsy twice, epilepsy too,

abandonment, band trouble, label trouble, Woolsey Fire,

a dire aneurysm threatens to burst the bubble

but cannot extinguish the bright orange beacon

holding vigil as the evening turns cold

beckoning onward the tousled old man

still searching for a heart of gold.

At our recent Panoply show in Walnut Creek, I wrote and read this tribute poem to Neil Young as Disney artist Tom Matousek (www.TomMatousek.com) unveiled the iconic painting pictured above. Singer/songwriter Forrest Reed, backed by guitarist Clay Collins and drummer Gary Kaplowitz, followed with a sweet rendition of Young’s classic song Harvest Moon, the image around which this poem revolves.