Dudley
Dudley, one legged, is not the same man
Who taught me, when young, to spin gigs
Like calypso songs from a rum glass pouring
Is not the same man whose bat hoisted balls
Above the starapple tree's purple top and win
At cricket like my father's Bonnie Blue flag
That no other horse could beat. Dudley has one
Leg but he is not defeated. He is a man better
In his dexterity of soul, for that he seems
An older boy, despite our dread of age, carrying
All eyes through the ring and to the crease. He
Was always superior to me in physical prowess
And I could flatter him with the conceit of my mind
But he laughing so today when we met, and he
Swing from his crutch and into the car so adroitly
And laughing about his missing leg like it was a kiss
Reported on in childhood and nothing to miss
Showed me a man superior in flesh and soul
For I, with even Christ, find that faith too bold.
Copyright © David Smalling | Year Posted 2012
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