And Bob Dylan Too -- A Poem by Mary Oliver

And Bob Dylan Too
by Mary Oliver, as published in Parabola

“Anything worth thinking about is worth singing about.”

Absolutely.

Which is why we have
songs of praise, songs of love, songs
of sorrow.

Songs to the gods, who have
so many names.

Songs the shepherds sing, on the
lonely mountains, while the sheep
are honoring the grass, by eating it.

The dance-songs of the bees, to tell
where the flowers, suddenly, in the
morning light, have opened.

A chorus of many, shouting to Heaven,
or at it, or pleading.

Or that greatest of love affairs, a violin
and a human body.

And a composer, maybe hundreds of years dead.

I think of Schubert, scribbling on a cafe
napkin.
          Thank you, thank you.

* * * *

I found the poem "And Bob Dylan Too" in the Winter 2010-2011 edition of PARABOLA. The theme of this issue was Beauty. The image atop the poem is a doctored photo from a YouTube video of Dylan performing a beautiful rendition of Visions of Johanna.

The poem celebrates song and music and beauty and life. I hope you can experience a measure of beauty and soul nourishment this weekend. Be open to the unexpected and let it happen.