A Fare Duly Paid
When times were hard and heavyA messenger was born
To speak the truth to falsehood
In the name of the forlorn
He set out for the the Highway
With only a carpet bag
To find the deep blue ocean
And a shore with sands and crag
The time of tide had come
For the ship to go to sea
To sail forbidden waters
And undreamed shores to be
In gold and silver pieces
The fare was duly paid
And in his cabin fast asleep
The fate on him was laid
Afar the foghorn growled
For all them weary souls
There was no way of knowing
For whom the Bellman tolls
The wind and then the sailors
Began to weep and wail
To sounds of squeaking timber
In a ship about to fail
The first of seals was opened
The ship rode foamy waves
Behold the bolts of thunder
Flashing for the slaves
The tempest was upon them
He was cast into the sea
And then a sudden stillness
That no one could forsee
Then slowly he descended
Into the underworld
And in the slimy water
The seaweeds round him curled
He saw the maw of hell
With all its pangs and pains
And bowed his head in prayer
Oh Lord, unload our chains
And when the oily calmness
Was laid upon the wave
He from this place of doom
Was raised, as from a grave
Copyright © 2013 Göran Gustafsson. All rights reserved
Poetry by Göran Gustafsson
Read 636 times
Written on 2013-08-07 at 13:04
Tags Dylan
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
