Time Traveller


I’ll tell them all you’ve gone to San Francisco
I haven’t got a clue when you’ll be back
You’ve always had an appetite for travelling
And now, it seems, you’ve tried a different track.

That rainy night they told me you had “passed away”…
That crazy call, it made no sense to me
The only way to wrap my head around it
Was rushing to you there so I could see.

Your arms were cool and soft beneath my fingers
I stroked them with a purpose for awhile
I swore I felt a pulse there in the veins beneath your skin
And you looked as if,
At any moment,
You’d wake up
And smile.

How does one accept the fact a loved one’s “gone away”
That the house the spirit lived in is no more
How will my tomorrows feel without you here today
Tapping at the window…coming in the door.

I’ll just pretend that you’re in San Francisco
You’ll write or call as soon as things slow down
I’m sure you’re busy making friends, but don’t forget I’m here
And, meantime, I’ll just say you’re out of town.

By Patricia White
(Jonathan’s mother)

Photos from Patterson Park Summer Music Series

Photos from Patterson Park Summer Music Series

Photos from Patterson Park Summer Music Series provided by Katie Brennan.

Here, There, and Everywhere

(Three Zen poems for Jonathan)


Thick growths
of old trees
clasped hands overhead

Rhododendrons
on either side
stretched on and on
toward the sound
of falling water
tumbling noisily
down a rocky chute.

Breezes,
flower-fragrant, cool,
rushed toward us
dancing playfully
over our faces.

Was that you?

-----------------------

We walk down
the woodsy path
side by side

Invisible you
squeezed in the middle
holding our hands

smiling.

-------------------------

Outside the cabin
near Dingman's Falls,
David plucks at his guitar,
hums,
jots lyrics on a note-pad,
polishes "Looking for Jonathan"
...
hopes you'll hear his song.

-----------------------------

Patricia White (Jonathan's mother)

Poem for Jonathan

Looking for Jonathan
by David Reichenbacher

I'd like to think that you're still here
Beside me when I walk
I feel your breath upon my face
At the door, I hear your knock.

On these city streets, you're everywhere
Your reflection's in the glass
I think I hear your voice on the bus
Or in the car that drives past.

You're everywhere around me
Your spirit fills the air
Your peace and warmth surround me
Stay with me, everywhere...

The leaves above, they spread apart
The sun comes shining through
And then I see your brilliant smile
And then I know it's you.

They say that life is but a dream
And death is just as strange
Cuz neither one is real to me now
They both seem just the same.

You're everywhere around me
Your spirit fills the air
Your peace and warmth surround me
Stay with me, everywhere...

Come sit with me, talk to me now
Come tell me how you feel
I feel your arms around my chest
I know you're just as real...
I know you're just as real.

For Jonathan Gorrie, by Robert Schreur

For Jonathan Gorrie, Not Fade Away

When I moved away he wondered why
I would unload all those LP's on him.
Um, I said, they're heavy? And you're
next door? But really it was the 50's car
he'd somehow parallel park on Union Ave.,
his pork pie hats, and Lambs Eat Ivy,* his
crooked smirk, Charlotte's cat eye glasses.
Who else should have those vinyl Dylans
and Bowies and Tinklers and Herman's Hermits
and Screamin' Jay Hawkins's? Who else
but you, Jonathan? to play loud and long,
the needle popping in the dusty grooves?

______

*Heads bowed in reverence.

Photos from Memorial Party on 06/29/08

Thank You

The Memorial Party for Jonathan on Sunday, June 29, was the most sweet, loving, poignant event I've ever experienced. It touched my heart deeply to see how many people, even from other states far away, came to say goodbye and pay homage to Jonathan. By being there, they showed how much they cared, and loved him...and he was certainly easy to love. None of us want him "away"...but I'm sure he will be part of us forever. He left a unique and glowing imprint on our lives.

Charlotte, Jonathan's brothers, my husband David, and I appreciate so much that wonderful, affectionate gathering.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Jonathan's mother