Mankato, October 24, 2019

He said

She examines the Nightingale’s Code…

Everything is returned that was owed…

That night

they made a path for me

I felt like royalty

There were four Shrickels there

glimpses of look-alikes

even the hair

Cold eyes glinting with murderous hate

Sullen in silence as they wait

for the nightingale to flee the room

Johanna, some muttered under their breath

Was this the final kiss of death?

The first seat was wrong and I was replaced

Farther up front, they said, so I raced

to a spot facing the piano

On the stage hung dummies in symphony dress

One stood out from all the rest

Dressed as he had been long ago

A standing bass player in a summer tux

Who else would know of that besides the two of us?

Had Dylan somehow gotten inside my. head?

Nonsense, I said

And yet, there was a tinge of dread

of this abyss, the unsaid

A powerful band

a polished show

hypnotic voice

eyes blue

ninety minutes flew

fast–paced back-to-back

songs somewhat alike

same rhythym

same pulse

can’t make out all the words

but that’s alright

The crowd was quiet

fingers tapping on knees

Didn’t come this far just to sit

so I slipped out of my seat

down the stairs

danced on the floor

next to strangers in a blissful state

You’ve Gotta Serve Somebody

last song of the main set

Odd

I said that to Shrickel long ago

He claimed he was saved

then seemed to forget

Serve God or Baal I pleaded with him

Choose today whom you will serve

Instead, he shape-shifted before my eyes

golden face rippling

held us captive, then left

all forever changed

Lights snapped on quickly

Some booed at the end

they wanted more

but

the magic was gone

Just an empty stage

with the dummies forlorn

I climbed up the stairs to the garage roof and saw

a black bus next to the tracks along the river

Cars inched their way down

lights everywhere

And then a gentle roar

He had come out the side door

I might have seen him closer

had I waited

After all this time we breathed the same air

This strange connection

was it still there?

In 1997 on a summer’s eve

I kissed the love of my life

in the dark, in a garage in Ann Arbor

that first night

when we finally met

Somehow it seemed right to remember that

Though he is no longer here with me

A sweet touch from the great beyond

I guess there’s something in Dylan for us all

Update July 19, 2021

A lot has happened since I wrote that poem. Dylan’s position in the Mozart Vortex has clarified, for one. He has unmasked himself as a part of Monostatos — the wicked servant in Sarastro’s Temple in the opera The Magic Flute, which has come alive.

Dylan’s paid, canned, online event, “Shadow Kingdom” appears to be receiving mixed reviews. Some are unhappy that it was so short; others, that the production is clumsy. And then, of course, there are a lot of masks.

But one thing stands out to me — the continuation of the “standing bass player” theme that I noticed from the 2019 concerts — which I tentatively connected to “Monostatos” from the Minnesota Orchestra — a standing bass player named Bill Schrickel. At this time it looks like Dylan obtained ‘inside’ information about me and my children from Bill, who happens to be my ex..along with some early drafts of my intellectual property. All that has made its way into some of Dylan’s “Key” songs (they either contain the word ‘key’, reference to a ‘key’, such as “Play the Moonlight Sonata in F sharp” or the word “nightingale”).

Looks like Nightingale could be a reference to me. If so, Dylan has used this info to allow his insiders know how to attempt track me down and cause trouble. I have run into a few of them over the years — nowadays, I call them “Dylinquents”…Their behavior now is almost immediately obvious, as they just seem to act a little weird. Others stumble, walk into walls, and are unable to speak, try to become part of my inner circle when I don’t even know them. Little things like that

A nod to Shrickel?…

So, in my book, Dylan has solidified his position as one of the scoundrels of the cadre “Monostatos”…

If so, any possible connection to the Zauberflote in the vortex was counterfeit and has ended, perhaps for good Hopefully, Dylan is operating under his own steam now…