On Meeting Ozzy Osbourne

On Meeting Ozzy Osbourne 

February 2, 1982

***

Ozzy Osbourne 

In his own way 

Save this suburban boy

Dreading high school

8th grade

Braces

Gangly teenager

No girlfriend 

Lost adolescent

Knew nothing of life

I was Saved by

Rock n Roll

By you Ozzy

August 19th 1981

Stanley Theater 

Ozzy came to town

My first concert

Blizzard of OZ  tour

Turned 15 day before 

Ozzie Osbourne 

You were tearing 

Town the line

No shirt screaming 

Randy Rhoads guitar 

Shredding time 

You blew my mind Ozzy

Tasted freedom

Mind numbing 

Conformity

Shattered 

February 2, 1982

Diary Of Madman Tour

Civic Arena

Destined to meet you

Shadowing a DJ  career

WDVE Rocks 

Pittsburgh

Hoping Praying 

You would visit Ozzy

Following my dream

No one knew truth

I was only there

To meet you Ozzy 

Zero interest being DJ

My Stealth 

Plan worked

Remember 

You walking 

Towards me

Drummer

Pink hair

Behind you

Outside

No one

Smiling at you

Braces

Wearing

Blizzard of Oz

Tour shirt

Somewhere I knew

I would meet you 

Looking in your eyes

You smiled

At this award teenager

Never had a girlfriend

But like you

I was a troublemaker

Raising hell in my way

Challenging authority

You were 34 Ozzy

You made a difference

8n my life

You were famous 

Black Sabbath

I was nothing 

You were kind

I have never

Forgotten

Your humility  

I held you hand

Longer than a handshake

You in black leather

Looking at me

I told you my

Stealth plan

Fooling my school

I could be crazy

But I felt you had respect

For this awkward

Teenager

Who had never

Gotten drunk

Gotten stoned

Or been

With a girl 

It meant the world

To me Ozzy 

Looking in your 

Blue green eyes

Windows to the soul

No one cooler

Under the sun

Than you Ozzy 

Someday I hoped 

I would be a Cool 

Trouble maker

Kickin it

Down the line

Like you Ozzy

Me in my braces 

Smiling at you

You smiling 

Don't think

You were  

Stoned

Then Sabbath came up

I said you are Sabbath

You laughed

Fanzine on table

Review of Sabbath album 

Without you

Two stars out of five

You read it

Said to me

"They really slagged em"

l said something like

With Randy Roads on guitar

Nothing was better

You blew Sabbath away 

Signed Your autograph

I was in heaven

Memories

Beyond 

That moment

Have Faded

I realized

If I could engineer

Meeting you

With braces

No real friends

No girlfriend

Hating high school

Blowing up classes

Fighting authority

Well Ozzy

Thought there might

Be something

More in life

Then spirit killing

Suburban 

Conformity

You gave me faith

I have never stopped

Blowing things up

Like you

Blown myself up

Repeatedly 

Ce la vie

In my eyes

In 1982

You Ozzy 

With Randy

Shredding guitar

You were 

Peakinh

Nothing

Could hold

You back

Next month

Randy died

Freak 

Plane crash

I cried

Randy to me

Guitar

God

After that Ozzy

I never really

Listen to you

Because

Something

Died for me

With Randy

I think maybe 

For you too

Ozzy

I never shared

Meeting you widely

Few at my school

Cared about you

Lost in bad

80s pop music

Dressing

Izod Shirts

Unlike me Rich

About as interesting

As paper weights

Graduating

Walking out the door

Never looked back

Never returned

Once

Freedom 

Meeting you

Meant too much

To be spoiled

By others

Meaningless 

Opinions 

Interpretations

Even though 

I stopped

Listening to you

Long ago 

In the 80s

I've noticed

Despite endless

Drug Addiction

You are still

Kickin it

Your 74 Ozzy

We met 

40 years ago

Like Keith Richards

Somehow your 

still Alive

You inspired this

15 year old

Teenager 

With braces 

To Break free

Conformity 

What anyone

Thought of me

Now at 56

You inspire

Me again 

Think maybe

I'll make it

Few more 

Decades

Rocking out

In my small way

Don't drink 

Whiskey

But for you

Ozzy 

I'm knocking

Back a shot

To your long life

May we

Always

Rock on 

***

David Arndt October 22nd, 2022