The Wolfking of Desire

The Wolfking of Desire

Because Magpie said something about writing

a poem about the first thing you see

I wrote this silly poem

about Bob Dylan and the cover of “Desire”

and how he obviously got the idea

from John Phillips' “The Wolfking of L.A.”

and how this happened when Bob was being a bad, bad boy

just like John always was a bad, bad boy.

But why write about something so silly

as an internal self-made conspiracy

that Bob was wanting to channel that dark

and primal energy that was just John

because he has to experience as much of all

as he possibly can? Isn't that why Street Legal

and the Christian phase? Afraid of the darkness

in others? Fear it in yourself!

But Bob was busy at the time, putting on white makeup

and dancing to the Rolling Thunder

and John was under that harsh white rock

that he never quite got out from under

while Bob went on through his 80s has-been phase

so he could come back and play folk songs again

before hitting the stride that turned him

into the venerable and old post-apocalyptic bluesman

singing variations on the same everything

as time winds down to a stop.

c 2014