Rock Ranger
equal parts peace and promise
animate talent louder than bombs
& a pure hurricane-chasing heart
full throttle classic rock ranger
you were an exhilarating surprise
& fused unbridled passion in your stride
this extant twinkling passes by slowly
without your patient dreams dancing
& joyous flashes of musical quick fingers
on the back of a postcard from the road
it simply reads JS, we
wish you were here
come back home Jay
into the light
for you the pursuit of rainbows
on the other side of midnight
will never expire
absence will not quell your golden voice
it is absolute truth you will never be gone
in our bones your music remains
I met Jay Smith twice.
Friendly banter ensued but mostly it me waxing poetic about his
performances and him being graciously thankful I enjoyed it. There may have been a pun or two in there as
well, not from me though, surprisingly.
I saw him play several times, on stage with Gordie
Sampson, Matt Mays and on his own. I
admired his natural ease, his raw talent, his love of music fiercely evident in
his on stage antics and in his voice.
His passing made me profoundly sad. Too young, too much left to do, see, write and
places to play and people to wildly inspire.
Too much living for him to do. I
was so moved at how quickly our incredible tight knit music community here on
the East Coast and Canada wide rallied together in both mourning and in
celebration of their fallen brother. I
have the utmost respect for Matt Mays for finishing his tour despite their
tragic loss. It takes good humans to
carry on and for that Matt and his band have my infinite admiration.
Regardless of the reasons Jay left this world, he awoke in
all of us a certain kind of reverence, a great deal of happiness and the music
that will continue to color the world and represent his truest essence. For that, as a fan, I am grateful.
I attended a benefit concert on Sunday evening in support
of his little ones, his family. His
musical brothers and sisters filled up the stage with emotionally riveting
performances. It was a love fest. A celebration. And, even though for much of the time tears
came, there were warm moments of remembrance and tribute from his sister, his
wife and his band.
I’ve been trying to articulate for days what that was
like to be a small part of that but I really still can’t. So, I wrote a poem. I’ve read over a hundred times and it feels cliché
to me because there truly aren’t words beautiful enough for Jay. But, I tried.
It is difficult to watch people lose their dearest friend,
their son, brother, husband and father.
It is difficult to know someone so admired was in pain. It is simply difficult to lose the things and
people we love. The trick is to know how
to celebrate them when they are gone from us.
I will continue to listen and celebrate, for his life, his memory and
those who loved him most. And judging
from the crazy amount of love he generated I am certain his gifts will be paid
forward, time and again.
In propinquity,
Nic
Jay Smith
1978 - 2013
Rest peacefully, Rock Ranger
