Seeds of Dissent by Phil Woods
Phil Woods dedicated this poem to me for my birthday, Phil is one of my favorite poets and one of the smartest and coolest guys I’ve talked to.
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SEEDS OF DISSENT
By Phil Woods
for Chris Steele
Every generation has to discover,
or rediscover,
what was authentic rebellion.
It could be a novel or a song.
It could be a painting
or very private poem.
Fitzgerald thought three times
per century
There’s a rebellion
against the Fathers.
First, there are those front runners,
those scouts
scouting the future—
those great epic signs
& early warnings.
Then, the full blown crisis
& full mobilization.
Then, the walls & crushing blows,
more often than not,
of counterrevolution.
In the 20s the horror of WWI
& the crass
go-go hustle
of America
Caused sustained, defiant exile.
Then, as Malcolm Cowley wrote,
Exile’s Return.
Some became reporters
going down
to Harlan County.
Some helped organize the CIO.
Some defended the Scottsboro Boys.
Others went to Spain,
either as press
or in the Lincoln Brigade.
Then, after the War
Tail-gunner Joe
& Tricky Dicky
helped create
the Big Chill.
Like the Lost Generation
the Beats
kept something alive
during an ice age.
By 67 it was full blown
Rebellion,
But it died a thousand deaths
from Altamont
to the townhouse
that exploded
in the Village.
Since then, it’s mostly been
re-guard action
& counterrevolution.
Reagan did his best
to impersonate
Calvin Coolidge.
& in 2007 W did his best
to impersonate
Herbert Hoover.
Since then, we’ve had
a very thin
reenactment
of the memory
of the New Deal.
But the Crisis deepens
& seeds of dissent
reappear in Wisconsin
& Zuccotti Park.
We need new songs, new poems,
new strategy.
My grandfather tried
to tell me
look for security
& cut the best deal
you can.
The age old wisdom
of fighting for the
immigrant family
With no illusions about
changing the big picture.
Very Catholic, very conservative,
& above all,
very subordinate.
Know your place, accept your place,
keep food on the table
& a roof
over the family.
Hope like hell the kids & grand kids
can some how
move up.
You don’t rock the boat.
You prove you belong
& are loyal.
Some of us, for some of us
that’s not enough.
We plant seeds of dissent.
Blow on
the old embers
of past insurgency.
Try to keep a precious flame
burning.
