Stepson of the Right Hand (feat. Dave Bernstrom)

"The most magnanimous thing a man can do is to take care of another's child out of love Alone."

Of all of the losses I've endured in these last 5 years
I think yours is the one that brought the most tears

Nothing has been harder in my entire life
Than watching your mind and body decline
Than seeing the hands that fixed so many cars
Shake uncontrollably, and pick at invisible scars
Than hearing you ask the Dr. why
Than knowing you were just waiting to die

Mom said you kept seeing me as a young child
When you weren't having nightmares of a bus gone wild
Or a house full of ghosts, even that of your firstborn
Lost in the past as your memory was torn away

After seeing you suffer from that fucking disease
Your absence is actually more of a release
And it's easier to grieve for you when I know
That you had made your peace and were ready to go

There are so many things that I see and do
That every time now will always mean you
From Godzilla to Gumby to pizza on Fridays
To RC Cola and cars from the fifties

You showed me that being a man
Could mean being both strong and gentle at the same time
You were the bedrock my whole life was built on
And I am honored to have been your stepson