Before I Forget

Bill Graham Presents- Stories compiled by Rita Gentry

It was said that Bill Graham Presents (BGP) was a family, and it was true: a crazy mash-up, a kaleidoscopically dysfunctional family full of characters and personalities, black hats and white hats, and some of the best people you’ve ever known, led by the master, Mr. Bill Graham. (Back cover)

Today I Know You Well
Fires raged like hell’s fury on the hilltops of California
RISING, falling, swallowing everything,
everything vanishing
Before red-glazed eyes of disbelief
Where is the rainstorm outfitted chiefs danced for?
Like a curse, undeserved but inevitable
Begins invisible, then becomes luminous as a ghost
Lurking above and below, calling all to join the dance

Spirits rose, some still rising, with the deluge
On this morning of October 26, 1991
Awakened by harsh winds of a deadly storm,
I wished myself happy birthday
Extra deep breaths, extended yoga posture holds
Knowing that black outside and bellowing gales
Welcomed an unwanted fate in a wished for, tardy rain …

(excerpt from my poem written in Bill Graham’s office the day after his passing.)