kite

bono says this song is about letting go of someone. he said he wrote it when he was thinking about his dad nearing the end of his life but after it was made, he realized he really intended the message for his kids.

it is truly an amazing message for one's children, too. i just thought about it this morning as my kids were scampering around in my parent's house. i see terra getting older and at four, there are already behaviors she has left behind that i will never see or know again. and, that is okay.

the night before i was up late with my dad discussing everything from prop 8 to nietzche. i enjoyed the conversation immensely.

all of this simply underscores the fact that i do not own the people i love. it is not to me to keep them. they are not for my pleasure, enjoyment or security. my dad is for me to cherish for as long as i possibly can. my wife is for me to love and venture forth with. my children are for me to influence as positively as possible, to impart the very best of me and my values, and to encourage to follow their own dreams and visions for this life.

here are the lyrics for kite. i can imagine saying this to terra and mark. in essence the message is, i have given you all i can and i trust you to go out into the world and live your life.

Something is about to give, I can feel it coming, I think I know what it mean, I'm not afraid to die, I'm not afraid to live, And when I'm flat on my back, I hope to feel like I did, 'cause hardness, it sets in, You need some protection, The thinner the skin, I want you to know, That you don't need me anymore, I want you to know, You don't need anyone, or anything at all, Who's to say where the wind will take you? Who's to say what it is will break you? I don't know, which way the wind will blow, Who's to know when the time has come around? Don't want to see you cry, I know that this is not goodbye, In summer I can taste the salt in the sea, There's a kite blowing out of control on a breeze, I wonder what's gonna happen to you, You wonder what has happened to me, I'm a man, I'm not a child, A man who sees the shadow behind your eyes, Who's to say where the wind will take you, Who's to say what it is will break you, I don't know, where the wind will blow, Who's to know when the time has come around, I don't want to see you cry, I know that this is not goodbye. Did I waste it? Not so much I couldn't taste it, Life should be fragrant, Roof-top to the basement, The last of the rock stars, When hip-hop drove the big cars, In the time when new media, was the big idea, What was the big idea?