PAD Day 29: Music of a Legend

 Today's prompts from Wroite Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "near the beginning' and/or "near the end" poem, and (2) " write a poem that takes its inspiration from the life of a musician, poet, or other artist. "

I wrote a persona poem today, in the voice of Woody Guthrie, near the end of his life and his battle with the debilitating hereditary disease Huntington's Chorea. The title is actually that of an unpublished song he wrote that was finally put to music and recorded by Billy Bragg and Wilco (along with a number of his other unrecorded songs) on their 1998 album Mermaid Avenue. It's well worth a listen, along with the sequel, Mermaid Avenue 2. The epigraph is a line from that song, and the last line is, of course, the title of one of Woody's most famous songs.

Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
 
Ain’t nobody that can sing like me…
—Woody Guthrie
 
The songs still swirl in my head
as I lie in my hospital bed,
hardly able to move, frozen by
the sickness that took my mama.
My six-string machine
ain’t killed a fascist in years,
but people still sing my songs,
songs with grit and dust on ‘em
and the clackin’ sound of railroad tracks.
Songs for the threadbare and downtrodden,
for the workers, and the Okies fleein’
the dust storms of their farms.
Songs about the beauty of this land,
and how a sign that says
“No Trespassing”
says nothin’ on the other side.
Songs with a singe of sadness—
all the fires that cursed my family—
but also silly songs for the kiddies.
One day not long ago, a gawky young fella
with kinky hair brought his guitar
and serenaded me with my own songs.
Said his name was Bobby, and he wanted
to keep my legacy alive. Well, folks,
he’s done a pretty good job of that.
and it’s brought me some peace.
So all I got left to say is
so long, it’s been good to know yuh.