It was at Lafferty's
on the South Shore
where I met my first wife
James was there often
hanging out with friends
strumming his guitar
I was imagining myself
a serious contender
a Harvard undergrad
learning to read Chinese
and thinking he was frittering
away his precious time
then came the first album
with songs that struck
so deep a chord
Fire and Rain
songs that I loved
and loved to sing myself
once I had given up
the professorial fantasy
it was a lesson learned
and one that I'm
still grateful for