Inspired by a performance led
by Dutch conductor and violinist
Andre Rieu, in Maastricht,
the Netherlands.
Follow me, Father,
to immerse ourselves
in I will follow you. . .
lyrics you
brought to life,
in song,
over fifty years ago.
Follow me
to the town square,
where tens of thousands
await to revel
in a Radio Age favorite,
conjured into a hymn
you never, in life,
imagined.
Follow me
as our spirits
mount the stage,
move unseen
amid chorus
and orchestra.
Follow me
into the wings,
as the conductor,
with exquisite
slowness,
tip-toes singers
into the opening
refrain.
Follow me,
over the crowd
into dusk’s
darkening sky,
as duet of voice
and orchestra
explodes, thunders
to the heavens.
Follow me,
as we flow amid faces
mouthing words,
hands and feet
singing in a tongue
of joy unbounded.
Follow me
into worlds/
memories digital,
you never knew,
breathing life
into your music,
as the song says,
from now until forever.
Note: The poet’s father, composer
Arthur Altman, collaborated to create
the American, English-language
version of I Will follow You, in 1963.
André Rieu – I Will Follow Him – YouTube
Dick Altman writes at 7,000 feet on New Mexico’s high desert. Pushcart Prize nominee and poetry winner in Santa Fe New Mexican’s annual literary competition, his work has appeared on four continents. He has in progress two collections of some 150 published poems.
