He called himself
wayfaring stranger
and he touched me

With his singing
strumming on
his folk guitar
Nothing fancy
just enough
to carry
What the songs
themselves might wish
for you to hear

Folksongs from Ireland
Scotland
Appalachia
Cowboy songs
love songs
some bawdy songs too
Before I'd reached
the age of eight
he had me
Though it was many
years before
I knew
How deeply
I'd been touched
by what those songs
Had taught me
about love
and poetry
And the lives of
folks whose names
were never written
But whose songs
go on uplifting
folks like me