Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CHAMPION (SUGGESTED BY A STORY OF JACK LONDON), by BERTON BRALEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CHAMPION (SUGGESTED BY A STORY OF JACK LONDON), by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: It ain't the kid that's sittin' over there
Last Line: It's youth will slip the same thing to myself!
Subject(s): Boxing & Boxers


(Suggested by a story of Jack London)

It ain't the kid that's sittin' over there
Who has me scared. He's, young and strong all right,
But all I gotta do is box with care
And I can come out winner in this fight.
No, it ain't him I'm worryin' about,
It's something in his corner that I see;
Something I know—an' know beyond a doubt
Is lurkin' there an' waitin' there for me.

Why, ever since the day I won the belt
(That's five years, now) I've seen it every time
That I have fought; an' though at first I felt
Like sneerin' at it—bein' in my prime—
Each bout I see it clearer than it's been,
An' some day some young feller's gonna crawl
Between the ropes—an' he'll be It—an' then
There'll be another Champion, that's all!

What is it that I see? Why, bo, it's Youth!
Youth with the punch, the vigor an' the zest.
It's bound to come, I gotta face the truth.
An' when it does, though I may fight my best,
Use all my skill an' cunnin', clinch an' hold;
It's gonna rock me, close my swimmin' lamps,
An' then, the knock-out; me a-lyin' cold
An' Youth announced the Champ of all the Champs.

For I was Youth when I jumped into fame
An' put the other champion on the shelf,
And this I know, because I know the game;
It's Youth will slip the same thing to myself!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net