Memories of John Lennon

So I’m a flake and haven’t been writing like I was planning to, but I picked up a few books in the library yesterday. One is Memories of John Lennon, something Yoko Ono put together, with just little narratives, drawings, etc. by various people who consider their lives touched by John Lennon.

Anyway, I just came across one by Alicia Keys, and I’ve realized how easy it is to write someone off as not amazing, due to large commercial success in our day and age, when commercial success usually means shallow music. However, she wrote a poem and it really touches me and it makes me realize that I should give every note a real chance, to see if there’s something there. Sometimes I might be disappointed, but maybe once in a while, I’ll be surprised or inspired.

I’m going to copy the poem here for you:

I am a musician
I love music
It is my being
It is what defines me and it is ever changing as am I.
To me music is sacred,
Like a religion
I treat it with respect and integrity,
I learn from the musicians I love
The ones who care about what they play
what they say
How the song can touch your core and shake your being
How the lyrics can make you weep
How the words can change the world.
To me, that is John Lennon:
A musician who can touch the soul
One who cared about the world
A man who stood up!
A voice that simply sang to the part of us that needed to be spoken to
I  thank God for a spirit that lives on through song and memory.
In the days of a drought, inspiration is hard to find
But with a man so diverse and passionate as Lennon
We will never be without a verse,
a prose,
a word,
a melody,
a chord,
or a song of which to grow from
I love my religion!

Okay, so it isn’t exactly as awe-inspiring as, oh, I don’t know,  Boris Pasternak, but it’s still thoughtful and it still just amazes me that Lennon touched as many people as he did. It seems as though he’s touched everyone in a unique and personal way. I really recommend reading this book, it’s really made an impression upon me, so far.

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