Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BOXING, by RICHARD FROST


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BOXING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Couldn't afford not to, my friends / insisting: with my long reach
Subject(s): Boxing & Boxers


Couldn't afford not to, my friends
insisting: with my long reach
I should jab well enough to unbalance
and uppercut any son-of-a-bitch.

Nested deep in memory,
the setup, first day of drill,
and fat Vern, reportedly slow,
coming out in a mayhem of leather.

Wait a minute! I yell, and he doesn't.
Then, at my locker, I button
my jacket atop my blue gym shorts
and reel out without taking a shower.

Famous at home, I watch boxing
all I'm able. Nothing gets past me --
no cut men, no refs, no judges.
Long years, I tell -- Long years I was in there.







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