Continuing Thoughts on Bob Dylan

[reveriebliss]

It's his birthday today, so I though I'd pay tribute with a poem. It's inspired from his own poem "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/last-t ... dy-guthrie


Continuing Thoughts on Bob Dylan

That voice inside
the back of your head
that keeps you from a runnin
too far ahead
too far left and too far right
and tells you with a punch
what you’ve left behind

That voice that keeps ya tossin
When you’re up in bed
Knowin when you’re lyin’ yourself straight
From a good night’s rest
From one too many mornings
Or miles behind
Or in the lowlands of desolation row
You’ll find time out of mind

When the tides gone up
And your boats gone down
And you find yourself swimmin’
Just to find solid ground
When you don’t feel like climbin
Up any more ladders
Cause the snakes are a slidin’
To their bottom lines
And you know the means
But you aint got the time

A cry like the wind
That’s a howlin’ and a blowin’
That’s not quite the answer
But seeks to get knowin’
Up through the North Country
To pastures of plenty
There you’ll find the voice
Still a’ singin’

Weathering breezes of silence
Or a hard country twang
You can hear the voice speak
To all types of men
Cause it doesn’t waver in any man’s face
and can’t kick dust
at any kind of race

That voice that keeps ya movin’
Straight on down the track
Hummin like a train whistle
So you don’t look back
Makin sure you keep inside
The little light a shinin’
To brighten the path
And kiss joy as it flies

The voice that sounds
Like something you’ve heard
From someone you’ve known
Of something you’ve learned
But not from him, her, them or it
Cause it hits much closer
Like a bag of bricks

It tells you to remember
When to forget
The somethin’ that knows
Where you haven’t been yet
The one that escapes no fiery furnace
Or side-steps no gates
To any holy palace

One little voice
Among the many
But sounds so loud
Because it’s just what you were a thinkin’
Maybe it’s up
Maybe it’s down
But you can count on it
To turn you around

To love just like a woman
With the strength of a man
To write your own epitaphs
And hold nobody’s hand

Cause you’ve been to the depths
100 times or more
Cause you know all the games
But you’re sick of keeping score
Cause you’ve seen poets in the gutter
And blind men at the gate
Cause you’re not quite full
And there’s no crumb on your plate
Cause there’s no hold to Truth
Not even in protests
Or masters of war
Or the ones they call prophets
Cause no man escapes death
but you might come close
If you hit the streets runnin
From mountain to coast
Cause it aint travelin’s destination
But the destiny you’ll find
And though I know one man aint the answer
He’s just speakin’ to the voice inside

[Nakedpoet]

Great tribute to Bob Dylan, enjoyed your epic piece.

[flux]

That voice must be the voice of wisdom, the voice of experience that gets stronger as we age. A positive poem I thought.

[Marise]

I felt his voice throughout this poem, what a wonderful tribute to a great man and a legend of a musician.
I saw Bob live a couple of years ago, I was so taken by him I managed to stand on my toes for two hours straight, couldn't bare not to see him. And it was cold too and crowds aren't my favourite places.
He has such wisdom and such ease of expression that you just instantly feel connected to him and his message.
truly great poem, I loved the imagery too.

[reveriebliss]

Thanks for the comments and compliments. I appreciate it a lot. This piece is close.

Cheers

[addressunknown]

I love all the Bob Dylan references, you weaved them clever ways. Bob Dylan is hands down my favorite artist, and one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.