Sir Raymond Smidrick
Sir Raymond Smidrick
He always walked with an air of royalty,
gaining entrance by tapping doors
with his finely carved, mahogany wood, walking cane
On the top of the staff was a sculpted silver lion,
he said it signified the lineage of kings
Most everyone in the neighborhood regarded him as a ghetto prince
A bit eccentric perhaps,
but he was a soft-spoken, interesting fellow
Wore his silk Windsor ascots always tucked perfectly
inside his checkered Belgian dinner jacket
People who grew up with him said he used to be simply called Ray,
but now he preferred to be called by his be-knighted title:
Sir Raymond Smidrick
Sir Raymond, if he chose to be addressed less formally
Word on the street has it,
that as a young man, his all-black Army battalion saved a French village
during WWII
This same village had previously been bequeathed to the queen of England
as an honorary gesture of the two nations' friendship
The story goes on to say that their whole battalion was invited to visit the
queen, and they had tea and crumpets, and she regaled them with
colorful tales of her ancestry
At the end of that auspicious day, the queen gave the men
the honorific knighthood title, Sir
That was a day that was held on to with pride by this peacock strutting man
Sir Raymond Smidrick
True ghetto royalty
He was later duly rewarded for those years of courageous service
and unquestioned loyalty,
when most of his government pension benefits were
unceremoniously reduced or cut
Copyright © Freddie Robinson Jr. | Year Posted 2016
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