Bob Dylan Poems #17 & #21 In The New Yorker

Two Bob Dylan poems made their way into the September 22nd issue of the New Yorker. The poems, titled #17 and #21, are both from the book Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript, a collection of 23 Bob Dylan poems synched to photos taken by Barry Feinstein. Feinstein shot Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin' cover, about the same time in the '60s that Dylan penned the two poems you can read below. They both sound pretty dark, huh?

Here's an article that ran in the New York Times with some background:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/books/16poem.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/D/Dylan,%20Bob

17

after crashin the sportscar

into the chandelier

i ran out t the phone booth

made a call t my wife. she wasnt home.

i panicked. i called up my best friend

but the line was busy

then i went t a party but couldnt find a chair

somebody wiped their feet on me

so i decided t leave

i felt awful. my mouth was puckered.

arms were stickin thru my neck

my stomach was stuffed an bloated

dogs licked my face

people stared at me an said

"what's wrong with you?"

passin two successful friends of mine

i stopped t talk.

they knew i was feelin bad

an gave me some pills

i went home an began writin

a suicide note

it was then that i saw

that crowd comin down

the street

i really have nothing

against

marlon brando

21

death silenced her pool

the day she died

hovered over

her little toy dogs

but left no trace

of itself

at her

funeral