Quixote by the Chip Shop Light
By london_calling79
- 1630 reads
It wasn’t until 18,
long-limbed, thin-skinned,
armoured in song and story,
that I realised the monsters had eyes
just like mine.
I’d gone further than any of my kin,
plucked from the comfortable hills and drumlins.
To the big smoke.
Where the porous walls were taller, greyer.
From the no man’s land of class,
hidden behind heroes and books of heroes
I eyed them. Furtive.
Loving, learning and losing
just like me.
I hurt one once.
Kicked his head in on the Linenhall,
by the sweat of the vinegar bins.
Fuelled by a song of drink,
by kings and curraghs
by the belonging
by the mob
by the bluster from a church of noise.
I wanted to see which colour his blood ran
so I plucked an eye from a monster,
like some B-movie Ulysses,
Quixotic. Pyrrhic,
but I revelled in the sweet pain.
I saw victory and defeat in the eyes of my own mob.
He even cried
just like me.
I paraded my knuckles.
Proud flags.
That one split his lip.
That one will scar.
Each blow was a step toward some union where the air was sweeter
despite the blood tang.
The mob soon scattered.
Dissolved by time and commitment to more concrete things.
Work and women mostly.
Only a few remained steadfast
the hardy sons of song and story.
We’ve all grown up now.
So it’s all ok.
And me? I was a footnote.
Just another soldier
in the war of who was wronger
and when it stops mattering.
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Comments
Wow. This has a real
Wow. This has a real resonance just now.
It wears its scars. First person works well. As does its ambivalence. Lets the reader do the work.
Nice one london_calling79.
Parson Thru
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For some reason I keep
For some reason I keep reading
in the war of who was wronger
when it stops mattering.
Parson Thru
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I've reread those lines a few
I've reread those lines a few times. I can't get that reading of it out of my head now. I'm probably not seeing the wood for the trees.
Parson Thru
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'Just another soldier in the
'Just another soldier in the war of who was wronger'
What a fabulous line.
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Another vote for those last
Another vote for those last two lines from me. Not sure you need the second 'all' here:
We’ve all grown up now.
So it’s all ok.
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I love this personal
I love this personal mythology with an epic feel about it.
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This is our well-deserved
This is our well-deserved Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day
Please share/retweet if you enjoyed it
Picture Credit:https://tinyurl.com/ydx8hopc
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'to work and women mostly',
'to more concrete things, work and women mostly', yes and as you know far better than I do, it's the times before that young men hurt others and risk getting hurt. Good poem.
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