I met Roy walking his dog,
heard the short whistles first
and then saw him striding
across the long grass,
his head in other places -
little-boy-lost ready to kick
the world in the bollocks.
'How are you Roy?' I said.
Nothing. Another whistle.
“Prawn Sandwich Brigade Roy,
you hit the nail there.”
But his back was turned
and I could see he was in a hurry
and I thought that's fair enough,
if I was Roy Keane i'd probably
not have stopped to chew the fat.
Roy's dog lingered for a time though,
sniffed at his reflection in the polish
of my Sunday-black shoes,
cocked a leg - emptied a steady stream
of fizzing piss across the shins
of my blush corduroys.
I stared for a while, examined the splatter pattern.
In the distance I could see Roy
marching forward like the ghost of Culchalain
through the fields of Glean-na-Bodhar
up and over the old railway cutting -
thought about calling, but hey,
Roy's a busy man we all know that,
and it would hardly feel right letting him
fumble some apology when he's places to be...
it's not like he'd shout me a pint
or suggest we head back to his
so Mrs Roy could whip them off
despite my feigned protestations,
give me Jamiesons, quick soak at 40,
tumble dry, pressed and ready,
and an hour later the two of us half-cut,
me in a pair of Roy's old long-johns,
singing a song about Jaap Stam
being a Dutchman, Roy grumbling
over the rim of his whisky about
troubles with his Da, the seasonal
resurgence of “Five Cantona”,
and always from the pristine corner
of that aureate room -
the blood-burn rush
under the nail of a thumb
from Stadio Delle Alpi -
Stop.
Rewind.
Stop.
Rewind
and that header
over and over and over.
Never wide...
Across the common others moved,
the sun was still dying behind
blunt graphite clouds.
I headed for the local
and hoped I'd not miss
the lunchtime crowd.
Comments
Kilb50 | January 24, 2012 - 11:37
Good stuff fb! You've not only captured the brooding enigma that is Mr Kean...you've also fashioned a very raw and witty poetic landscape, best summed up by this excellent line:
In the distance I could see Roy
marching forward like the ghost of Culchalain
through the fields of Glean-na-Bodhar
Good luck with the comp!
shoe | January 24, 2012 - 13:10
Some very vivid images FB! Best of luck for the competition.
Silver Spun Sand | January 24, 2012 - 13:46
Great stuff, fb. Good luck in the competition.
lenchenelf | January 24, 2012 - 20:53
Do we always forgive our heroes? A light ironic humour that lifts this from being very good to damned good. Enjoyed, thanks :-)
Lena x
fatboy74 | January 24, 2012 - 23:59
Hi Kilb, great comment much appreciated thank you. The part you picked out was how the poem began. :-)
Cheers shoe. :-)
Thanks Tina, and the same to you. :-)
Thanks Lena, I think we probably do - many thanks for your comment. :-)
jennifer | January 26, 2012 - 13:25
I like the way the poem so naturally weaves the story, very smooth writing,
J x
fatboy74 | January 28, 2012 - 13:10
Hi Jennifer, that's kind of you to say, many thanks - I felt it was a bit too conversational and although there's some rhyme and half rhyme, it feels more like prose - not enough sections sing like they should and it's just laziness on my part - I should have used it as a starting point, tore it apart and wrestled with it (metaphorically) until it was something i'm happy with, but these comps are great so I always like to bung one in.
Can't wait to get my hands on your book - being a teacher i'm doubly pleased for you. :-)
MistakenMagic | January 28, 2012 - 13:33
Great comp entry, fatboy - love the varying line length and stanza structure too. Good luck!
Magic xxx
jennifer | January 28, 2012 - 14:16
It's so hard to rewrite and tear apart and wrestle with it, though, isn't it, once it's written! I am finding that at the moment, going through the editing process with the book - but poetry is so much harder - there are so few words to play with! Luckily, with the book, I have great editors and my Mum to help me!
Thank you so much for the well wishes, not long now!
Good luck in the competition!
J x
fatboy74 | January 28, 2012 - 14:41
Cheers magic, I think I might need it!:-)
Yes, I can't bear editing, I read and edited my Let's Start Again so much that when john the editor asked if I wanted it in the anthology, I was so sick to the back teeth of it I said no - I don't envy you the editing, but a good support team like you have will work wonders. atb fatboy :-)
hudsonmoon | January 29, 2012 - 13:31
Love the imagery here, Fatboy. Singing in long-johns and whiskey. Has a wonderful flow. Love it.
Rich
gerardineanne | January 30, 2012 - 13:02
I loved the style of it.And the images.'blunt graphite clouds'.Excellent.
Good luck with competition.
fatboy74 | January 30, 2012 - 16:43
Cheers Rich - yes that sounds strangely satisfying!
Thank you Gerardineanne, I really appreciate your support, thank you. :-)
oldpesky | February 10, 2012 - 15:08
The prawn sandwich brigade. I was hoping someone would get that in somewhere and I'm glad you haven't let me down, FB. Best of luck in the poetry comp.
fatboy74 | February 10, 2012 - 15:48
I found this really hard - the prawn sandwich bit always felt like it stuck out a mile and it jarred - less easy to hide than I found with the prose. I thought Roy deserved a poem as well - thanks for reading OP and the best of luck to you as well. :-)