Two Prophets

For We Write Poems Poetry Prompt #197: Prophet
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Two Prophets

It ain’t me, babe,
wasn’t a true follower
only stood on very edge
of the crowd
never too proud
to lean in and listen.

Just like a woman,
it was the words I heard
that often called to me,
caught my attention and kept it
long enough to learn them.

Don’t think twice,
music was only secondary
means of remembering
that moment, this experience.

You were enigmatic tambourine man,
leader through those changing times,
prophet blowing in the wind.

Seeking shelter from the storm,
she came, twenty years later,
your face hand painted
on her black leather guitar case.

Asked, “What good am I?”
Then taught me
everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYMJZEtwVuo

Elizabeth Crawford  1/23/14

Process Notes: I have written several poems concerning prophets. This one was the result of a circuitous path of synchronicities. Although, I chose this prompt and wrote it up several weeks ago, I didn’t think much about it until a few days ago. When I did, the first thing that popped into my head was a Bob Dylan song someone told me made her always think of me (she was in need of a safe place, so I brought her home). That was over twenty years ago, and I had never heard the song before then, but it sounded like a good life philosophy to me, and reflected a great deal of our relationship. I went looking for a list of Dylan’s songs, flirting with the idea of using some of his titles as part of the poem, but gave up when I realized how many he either wrote or co-authored (500?). I was only familiar with about 23 of them. But, while exploring the music, I found an interview done with Dylan, in which he was asked if he saw himself as the prophet many defined him as. I was surprised to hear that word in conjunction with his person. Although I came of age in the sixties, I liked a variety of music and musicians, but was a follower of none. Yet, try as I might, I couldn’t seem to pull it together. So, I chose to forget about it and to watch the next episode in an old tv series. At the end of the episode, a familiar voice sang a few lyrics of a song. Of course, it was Dylan and I knew the poem was supposed to happen, just not how. Went to bed and awoke to that first line in my head. The italicized words are titles or references to Dylan songs. The URL after the poem is a recording of the song that put me on this path to begin with. The very interesting interview may be found on the same page in the right hand sidebar. Gotta love it when it all comes together.