Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BOXING by RICHARD FROST

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.

@3Wait a minute!@1 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.
@3Long years@1, I tell -- @3Long years I was in there.@1





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