Tuesday, April 23, 2013

A farewell . . .

from a photo by bobbie krinsky


Norbert ~
If, once again, you must lead us where we will surely follow; Via con Dios, Amigo. Gracias por todos.  My English is not good enough to express what I feel.  I resort to a language I do not speak.  You understand.     ~ Ralph  
. . .

This morning, our friend, Norbert Blei, left us to wander in another realm.  Sunnier, maybe.  He was our teacher, our compadre, our conscience sometimes.  He was the thorn in our side.  He was the salve for our wounds.  He was our encyclopedia.  And he wrote.  Oh, Jesus, he wrote.  He published some of us, read us, read to us.  He told me I was a poet, and I believed him.

Norb caught the 8:18 train this morning.  Jude was there, on that cold platform, to see him off.

My deepest sympathy to his children and to all who loved him.

Fare thee well, Norbert.     ~ RM

1 comment:

Bruce Hodder said...

I only heard about this a few days ago, having been off the scene for a while with illness and other lame excuses. He was a great man, and I don't mean that casually; he really was. I wish I'd appreciated that more at times instead of being wrapped up in my own ego dramas, false turns and screw ups. This is how we learn I suppose. Or not. Anyway, he's not with us anymore but his work and the deep appreciation of hundreds of writers and poets survives him.