Byron, when first I met you,
It was a certain warm and mellow day in June.
I'll not forget our doorway meeting--
You and Jerry filled with laughter in that magic, darkened room.
And as we stood there, engulfed in music,
I had a sense of just how special you would always be to me,
You'd be my teacher, my companion, and my friend for all eternity.
We shared life's drama, its smiles and sadness,
And there were always times when we would drift apart.
And yet our paths would come together
And I would find that you had never left a corner of my heart.
Now memories fill me, you in spring flowers
Out on some country road, or pouring o'er some faded, ancient tome,
While candles sparkle in the windows of your overlooking city home.
We never dreamed that we would come to such an end,
We'd face such dragons on the road.
I't never seemed to us the Universe would send
Us such a monumental load.
Now you're at peace and I am torn with pain and strife.
Is it harder to be dead, or harder still to cling to life
When all around you friends are gone?
So Byron, if you can hear me,
I feel you near me in this very special way.
We were like brothers, we learned together
As we discovered what it was for two men to be young and gay.
And as I sit here, engulfed in music,
I have a sense of just how special you would always be to me,
You'd be my teacher, my companion, and my friend for all eternity.