Homage to Johnny Cash (c)

"I hurt myself today,

to see if I still feel."
Cash's last song,
Simply caused me to reel.
 

Johnny Cash,

the great icon,

recorded perhaps his 

greatest hit

at the age of 71.

No longer the slick young writer,

Wracked by pain and scars,

He delivered his heart on a platter:

"Hurt," 
a song that will always matter.

"I expect to die soon,"

he said to his interviewer that day.

 What courage,

What gifts, allowed him to give

in such a strong and poignant way.

Seventy one and almost gone,

he recorded the song

that touched all souls and hearts.
No surprise that it rose
To number one on the charts.

The numbers are mounting,

60 million and counting.

The You Tube hits attest

to the enduring beauty of "Hurt."

He's so alone--
June now gone,

this shortened his life.

But his legacy lives on.

Lives on in time,

He walked the line,

of failure and fame.
 Music was never the same.

"A Boy Named Sue,"

"House of Blues," 
"Ring of Fire,"
"I've Been Everywhere."

Man, what a legacy!