Johann greatly influenced my life as teen when I was on my own living only with my father, and poor on L.I., N.Y. in the same little town.

   He showed me how he overcame by the human spirit, and touched my heart. He loved his father, who was a sailor, but too long out at sea. Johann had to be the man of the family with his mother and sister. But, although they were very intellectually progressed in school, they did not have the emotional strength of losing him. I watched Johann with tears in his eyes talk about his father. And then, the sorrow of his mother and sister, as they could not keep him also. He had to travel and live.

   Many years later, I am happy to add to this poem that I also moved to Vt., had a family, and one day up by a ski lodge saw Johann - he was happy, robust, met the perfect wife for him at his University, and also was saved by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.

   A very happy ending for me. 

Please enjoy the poem posted here:  (Please excuse as this for some reason did not load right and can't fix it!)

                      “Oh, Johann . . .”

                        Oh, Johann, where did you go?

                        The mountains and the oceans

                                 Cry out for your soul;

                          Your father…. the longing

                              and King of your heart,

                             would want you…

                           each time he was in port.

                         A young man, a son of a sailor –

                           And, oh what a sailor he was!

                        He was the only one they’d known

                        that was as strong and tough,

                             A Sailor, fully grown.

                     Your one and only Hero who

                          Cruised the ocean blue.

                        It was only with a hurt. It was

                               Without you.

                                Without you.

                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                            And, now, again

                                 He is taken

                             From your view.

                            Dance, soul, dance!

                     Don’t let your vision down!

                    Then as the portside visits grew

                           So much further apart,

                         Oh, how you longed to see him –

                                Just even at the dock;

                             He will come Someday . . ..

                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                  “O, Johann” II  

                            Johann,  you said in your heart,

                                      “I will conquer all.”

                           Your proud soul was challenged:                 

                                To beat your long lost Dad,

       The little no-vision town,

          And the ocean’s Call.

  This empty longing; what is it?

   Oh, how you worked your way,

   sweat forming from your brow,

    To the University that would be

your sole life now,

with its mountains

yes, and its snow!

 To give you a dream and a vision,

and to finally say,

“I’ve found my way.

                                             I’ve found my way.”

                                              Assuming their  

New England accent,

“University of Vuhmont,”

all would hear you say.

Your tall, gangling frame,

with your New England boots,

fought to find the way.

You skied their mountains,

and smoked their pipes.

You stayed up the long winter nights.

By their fireplaces, 

you chewed the fat, so to say,

just to learn their way.

With one long story, and one short, 

you filled the ears of

                 all who were taught… by you,

when you came back to visit

your own little town.

And nothing new.

  Nothing new.          

     They always had nothing new

                       for you.

   For he who once wanted to search

the ocean blue, went

 instead to search and find

                         out what was in the pioneer’s mind,

and start his life anew.

“It’s the closest I can get,”

He said, to know the

heart of Dad,

now dead.

 Dad, is gone -

Out to sea.

 Dad the sailor

 Pioneer in me

is gone -

Without me.

                                                  Without me.

The night dialogues

And a pipe and a beard

And a new Pioneer spot

took the place of

the pop.

Johann once held dear.

                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~                                                                         Renee Dowling Brophy