...you took my reality and cast it to the wind and i ain't never gonna be the same again...

(this is the best i have...and all i can do...)

i feel like an idiot, but i didn't even know it was your birthday today. i mean, we've been talking exclusively for a couple weeks now...as you're the only voice i want to hear...and, i can't believe i didn't realize it.

i fell in love with you so long ago. i remember readin' through your pages while sittin' on my daddy's chair. i remember, being six, and not really knowin' what you were talking about but that your words sounded beautiful when i read 'em out loud...and i liked how they felt leaving my mouth--and besides, the mystery was part of the fun. and i remember makin' up my own music to your poems and singing 'em loudly in the mirror. yeah. i was an odd child, but you helped me feel connected to something.

then i got older and i kept on readin' you...and slowly, things started making a little more sense but the mystery kept me intrigued. i swore you were talkin' to me, when i really needed someone to talk to me in the ways you did. you connected me again, but this time, to the side of me i was just discovering.

now...i listen. and i read, still. and you talk to me still. and you keep me connected still...but i respect so much more.

thank you bob dylan, for being there my entire life as a constant inspiration you have no idea how much i've needed you around...