what happened in nineteen sixty two?
the first Beatles LP came out
Marilyn Monroe died
Nelson Mandela was arrested
and sent to Robben Island
The Cuba Missile Crisis
brought the world
to the nuclear brink
Fidel Castro was Satan incarnate
Bob Dylan’s first LP was released
I knew about this
I’d seen its sleeve in a record shop
a friend had a copy
I’d never heard it
but somehow I knew
a couple of Dylan’s songs
one about Woody Guthrie
my grandma died
so did our family dog
both events made me sad
my friend Sam and I
had been to school together
we and thousands of others
went on The Aldermaston March
which led I think to
The Glastonbury Festival
the slogan de nos jours was
Ban the Bomb
the Labour Party remains
in favour of nuclear weapons
the only time I’ve heard
Bob Dylan in the flesh
was in a club in a pub
The Pindar of Wakefield
near St Pancras Station
it was in nineteen sixty two
who or what was
The Pindar of Wakefield
I didn’t know
but I knew about Bob Dylan
he was a surprise performer
when I went was there that night
so I heard him sing and play
the club was run by Ewan McColl
and the American Peggy Seeger
she introduced him graciously:
he was wearing
the corduroy cap
and the faux suede jacket
he wears on his LP sleeve
the place was crowded
with people who seemed
all older than me
when I think back about it
I fancy Dylan Seeger and me
are the only ones
who were there that night
and are still alive
Dylan was great by the way
he captured us all
.
Jeff Cloves