The many inspirations of Gareth C. Hughes
Outnumbered the sum of the notes in the Blues
And the Rock and the Jazz
And the Strings and Hip-Hop
He was sparked by them all
And still didn’t stop

He read ALL the books
Or certainly tried
Watched ALL the films
Chasing laughs, scares and cries

Got moved by ALL art
As much gallery kind
As the stuff made of frosting and fresh orange rind
And destined for pastry experimentation,
The midnight-to-dawn shift a daily vocation
At Olde Mrs. London’s Confection Shoppe
Where like everywhere else
Learning never stopped.

Picture miles across England! Alone on a bike!
So much to discover,
So what’s not to like?
Not even a coaster closed after hours,
What a chance to share Conversation Superpowers!

Because there in his words were
Where Gareth’s inspirations
Underwent their unlimited proliferation
With listeners, friends,
Viewers who never knew him,
But still got to enjoy
All the things that had moved him

Until THEY’d become
We learned after he’d gone
The actual inspirations,
all along

Not the things he ingested
All the things he took in
But the things his creations injected within
The people, all ages, who shared time with Hughes
and knew it or not
Were engaged with a muse
The effortless sneaky true influencing kind
That without trying
Leaves things behind,

His interests were seeds
Hughes transformed into starts
His inspirations were
the bits he’d impart

And after he’d gone
Together they joined
With their laughs, scares, and cries
To share phrases he’d coined

“Always a Hoot!”
And “It’ll take you places!”
And “Gareth would approve” lit them all,
The too-young-to-be-grieving-faces.

And they left that day something
None wanted to choose:
Living inspirations of Gareth C. Hughes.