Notes About The Poem
1965 Portsmouth, Virginia. On liberty in uniform
Portsmouth
Shipmates headed to town on a Saturday night
Ready to party, ready to fight
Passing a bar, I said Let’s stop by
There’s a barmaid inside who had caught my eye
Local boy said I saw what you did
You hit on my girl. You’re a dead man, squid
I don’t let no one hit on her no more
When someone does, then that means war
So I said Please to meet you. I’m really charmed
But if it’s a war on words, then you’re unarmed
Hey, I want you to know, you’re number one with me too
What a coincidence, the same number as your I Q.
Can’t help it if this ole boy set her heart on fire
So back off if you don’t want to sing soprano in the choir
Now I may not be the brightest lad
But it was easy to see he was getting mad
Then I said sorry man, I should have kept my mouth shut
Because I don’t have time to kick your butt
Then as I backed toward the door, I don’t know why
I stopped in front of the bar maid and I kissed her goodbye
The local saw fire and his face turned red
He threw a bottle at me that just missed my head
Then he charged at me and I took out his feet
And he slipped through the door and into the street
I looked at my shipmate and said some other day
We jumped over the bar and went out the back way
I said to my shipmate Let’s go somewhere else and unwind
He said you’re okay for a Yankee but you’re out of your mind.
Portsmouth, Virginia 1965 on liberty.
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
