“Not Quite”

I wrote this piece while my daughter’s father-in-law was on the verge of succumbing to a six month battle with a particularly virulent cancer.  He was a kind and gentle man, always in good cheer, inclusive, and engaging.  His troubles began when he was putting on his sock one day and his leg broke from the pressure.  Turns out it was a tumor just below the knee.  The first operation scooped it out, but didn’t get it all.  A second operation attempted to stop internal bleeding at the site.  A third operation took his leg at the hip because the cancer in it had become too painful to bear.  A month later, it had spread throughout his system.  He went into hospice treatment at home, fell into fearful delirium for a couple of weeks and died last night, the day after I wrote this song.  While I didn’t specifically create it for or about him, I know he was in my mind when I wrote it, and so I dedicate this one to him.