The Poem of the Month for April 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Some Days I See Bob Dylan in the Mall by Martha Landman. The commended poem for April is Poetry Like Bukowski by Nigel Ford.
Some Days I See Bob Dylan in the Mall
Martha Landman
Today it’s Allen Ginsberg.
Bob calls him over, they talk Kerouac.
Around them buskers cover a range
from lonesomeness to love for all
but no one sings Dylan in the Mall.
It’s violin, banjo and guitar,
young ones singing Hallelujah.
It’s winter and an idiot wind
howls through the alleys
too early for the city lights to come on.
Bob shows Allen some chords,
he plucks to the beat of the street
and Allen makes him cry
for the babies on Jessore Road.
They sit there, tight, talk
of when it was easy
to tell wrong from right.
Has much changed? Allen asks.
I’m another character, says Bob.
They get up and walk, dropping
a coin in a blind man’s cup.
Around them buskers cover a range
from lonesomeness to love for all
but no one sings Dylan in the Mall.
Poetry Like Bukowski
Nigel Ford
I wrote poetry like Bukowski
Before I’d read any of his
Before I’d even heard of him
And I read my poetry like Bukowski
To my new friends in the poetry scene
Who like Bukowski poetry
But they didn’t like my poetry like Bukowski.
Then I read Bukowski
And saw me in some of his poetry
And wondered why the poets who liked Bukowski poetry
Didn’t like my poetry like Bukowski.
So I wrote some more poetry like Bukowski
And read my new poetry like Bukowski
To those poets who liked Bukowski poetry
And they still didn’t like my poetry like Bukowski
Or maybe
They just didn’t like me.