Another night smotherest sun and day.
We playest cards for fun by candlelight.
Henceforth shalt it remain to be this way,
to never be plagued by another's plight.
I goest by the moon and stars for sport,
a hunt in wood during the darkest hour.
My greatest loyal friend protects my court,
my love sleeps soundly in the safest tower.
When I returnest on steed whence I came,
I see the smoke and rush back to my home.
My castle is consumed by growing flame;
my love hangs limply from the reddened stone.
My friend, no more, thou gaze upon it all
as the spark of fire and my dukedom's fall.

Thou dolt!  Buffoon!  Barbaric fool!  Thou hast betrayed my trust.
I stagger through the sundered stone in rooms where we'd imbibe
and cry upon the sullied ground 'midst things that hadst combust.
Enraged, I screamest in my home surrounded by thy lies.

There’s a part of me that say’s I’m jealous
Another thinks my golfing friends just zealous,
Whilst I crave fresh air and healthy motion
They’re busy slathering on the lotion
Before they mount some little cart
That with intent they simply point to dart
At breakneck speed from hole to hole
The putting of that little ball the goal.

Then there’s the clubs, that myriad bunch
The choice of which for them the crunch,
To make the shot or fail once more
Blaming each for that bad score.
Tortured, ruffled, discontent,
They soon repair to that drinks tent
To then replay the whole long game
Masterful excuses quickly turning lame.

But here’s the crunch and my dilemma
The doubt that heightens my antenna,
What are they hiding, sharing not a bit
Of why such torture never makes them quit,
Instead they plan and scheme each waking hour
For that free day the calendar they scour,
When they once more may hold that special club
With surging will some dainty green to stub.

School used to be a fun place
A place I’d meet with my friends
And we would have a good good laugh
Until the day and week ends

In school we used to have sports or PE
And the changing rooms, small and smelly
And I was scared for them to see
My big big belly

To that point were we close
And as best friends is how others would see us
But to make fun of me they chose
“Laugh with them and hold back your tears”

Now you ask why I would try to hide it
And not want to go to the pool
Well, they made me suffer and provided
For my lifetime depression, such fools

Only if you knew that I was skinny years ago
You would have thought I had no parents to feed me
But I got ill, and medicine changed me
So imperfect to you, but perfect

Years later and love is lying next to me
Saying “I love you, my bear”
I’m imperfect but perfect for love
Only if you knew, my dear

We've Lost Another Giant ... !!!
We've Lost Another Giant ... !!!

The One And Only ...
... Kobe Bryant ... !!!!!!!

His Daughter Too ...
As Well As Seven More ... !!!

I Feel Cold Like SORES ...
To Now Know That Kobe ...
Won't Be Seen Anymore ... !!!

It's Such A Shame ...
For Him To Pass This Way ...

At Such A Young Age ...
What Can A Fan Say ...

His Game Amazed ...
In SO MANY Ways ...

And He Went Through A LOT ...
To Get To ... The TOP ...

Accusations ...
And Other Stuff ...
That Never Stopped
His Pursuit To Be ...
A Basketball GOD ... !!!

There's So Much More ...
That I'd Like To Say ...
Just ... NOT TODAY ... !!!!!!!!!!!!

It's A Time For Respect ...
And A Moment of Silence ...

Because We've Just Lost ...
A TRUE Basketball GIANT ...

The One And Only ...

KOBE BRYANT ... !!!!!!!!!

It's ... " Wimbledon Time " ...    
And English Summertime ...
So It Ain't A Surprise ...  
We Ain't Seeing Sunshine ... !!!!!  
    
So Of Course The BBC ...    
Are Showing More REPEATS ...    
of Days When There Was Heat ...  
On The Courts And In The Streets ... !!!  
    
Cos' On My TV Screen's ...    
John Mac ... And ... " Borg Elites " ...  
The Boogas' ... Bjorn Used To Wear ...  
Upon His ...... Swedish Feet ...... !!!!!  
    
But Mac's The Man Whose Made My Mind ...  
Recline Rewind And Take Some Time ...  
To Look At How ... I REALLY AM ... !!!!!  
    
In Him I See ...  Much of Myself ...    
    
A Man Whose Beliefs ...  
Run DEEP Like Wells ...    
    
DEEPER Than ...    
Submissive Types ... !!!!!  
    
Who ... Fall in Line ...  
With Those Confined ...    
By ... Old School TIES ... !!!  
And Monetary Wealth ...    
    
Who Make Me Feel Like ...  
    
"What the hell ?  
I'm not playing ball  
til' you make the right call !"  
    
A CHALLENGER of ...    
" Establishment " .... Ways .... !!!  
    
No Matter WHAT ...  !!!!!  
People ... Might Say ... !!!!!!  
    
"Your rebellious mind, is out of line !    
Be careful son, otherwise, Otherwise !"  
    
"Yeah, otherwise what, you'll take my slot ?    
Do what you like, you don't own my mind !"  
    
See ... That's The Way I'm Living My Life ...    
No Shame In My Game Or The Words I Write ... !!!!!    
    
See There Are Some ...  
...... " Pitfalls " ......    
To Just ... " Playing Ball " ... !!!  
    
As There Are To ... Standing TALL ...    
If You ... DON'T Have Much Support ... !!!  
    
John Mac' Saw That Fa SURE ... !!!!!  
When He Was On Court ... !!!  
    
Cos' He Was SLAMMED And Called A BRAT ... !!!!!  
By Media Clans Who Hunt In PACKS ... !!!!!  
    
And NOT Just THEM But Other Sects ...    
Who CLEARLY Felt He'd Cause PROBLEMS ...    
Because His Ways ... Inspired Change ... !!!  
    
ALI .... BEFORE Him DID ALL These Things ... !!!!!  
    
So ... " Playing Ball " ... ?  
You Make The Call ... ?!?  
    
" THE BALL IS IN !!! "  
    
I ... INSIST ... !!!!!  
    
So Let Me LIVE And NOT Exist ...    
Like Those Who SEEK RESTRICTIVE Cliques ... !!!!!  
    
That's How I Live ... !!!  
NOT Bending Over ... ******* Things ... !!!!!  
    
I'm A Soldier Who .... RESISTS .... !!!!!  
    
But Playing Ball For ... " ***** Calls " ...    
    
Well Here's THE DEAL ... !!!  
And YES ... I'm For REAL ... !!!!!  
    
Most Girls Play Games To Get Their Way ... !!!    
And NOW Play Men By Using ..... " Texts " ..... !?!  
Well Here's Some Words To Get Them VEX ... !!!    
    
When It Comes To Me Girls ...  
Come S P R E A D Your Legs And YES GET LAID ... !!!!!    
    
My Game Comes ... STRAIGHT ... !!!!!  
NO Rain Delays And NO ... " HEADACHES "... !!!!!!  
    
If You DON'T Like The Rules ... !!!  
Trust Me ... It's COOL ... !!!  
    
Just Do Your Do And Walk AWAY .... !!!  
    
See I'm ... NO FOOL ...    
And Have Been WELL SCHOOLED ... !!!  
In How Playing Ball Can Bring DOWNFALLS ... !!!!!  
    
See It's NOT Easy ...    
To Walk The Walk And NOT Play Ball ... !!!  
    
Ask MAC'... Or ... ALI ...  
    
They Took ABUSE From YES MEN Crews ...    
Who Then CHANGED Tune When DOMINANCE Bloomed ... !!?!!  
    
See Playing Ball Will Work For Those ...  
Whose ***** Are SMALL And Minds Are CLOSED ...    
    
They Are THE WEAK Who Follow ... SHEEP ... !!!!!!!!  
And Hide Behind SHEETS Know What I Mean ... ?!!!!!?
    
..... " Historically " .....  
    
Life Changing FEATS Are NOT Achieved ...    
By Those Who Speak Like ... " Little Bo' Peeps " ... !!!!!  
    
They Tend To Be A ... UNIQUE Breed ...  !!!  
Whose Actions STIR ... Just Like Their Words ... !!!  
    
They Play Ball YES ...  
On THEIR OWN TERMS ... !!!!!  
    
In Times of STRESS ... !!!    
When OTHERS TURN Their Backs On Them ...    
I Guess That's When They Know Their Friends ... !!!  
And Those Whose CLAIMS .... Are ALL PRETENSE .... !!!!!  
    
The Game's The SAME From Beginning To End ...  
Most Toe The Line To Get Their Slice ...    
of Pie Designed To ... CONTROL Lives ... !!!!!!  
    
"Do what I say, and you'll get paid,  
but cross my path, and you'll feel my wrath,  
when things turn dark, and your card's been marked !"  
      
I Guess That's What Makes Them AFRAID ... ?!?  
of ... Creating Waves That STIR Debate ...    
Because They FEAR ... NOT BEING Cheered ... !!!!!  
    
But Those Who LEAD Care Less It Seems .... ???  
of How They're Seen In ..... " History " .....  
    
We'll Have To See ...    
Whether I ... " Play Ball " ... ?  
    
To Get The Call ...    
To Speak FREELY About Things I SEE ...    
For Now I'd Say That's ... UNLIKELY ... !!!!  
    
Cos Like The Replays On The BBC ...    
My Policy's To ... ROCK The Boat ... !!!  
Like McEnroe ... And Muhammad Ali ... !!!  
    
YES A Man Who Speaks What He BELIEVES ... !!!!!  
REGARDLESS of ... " CONTROVERSY " ... !!!  
    
So Like My Height I'm Standing TALL ... !!!!!  
Exercising MY RIGHT To ... NOT ...    
    
................. " Play Ball " ...................

Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.
Let’s have a really great show.
Let’s fly just like an arrow,
Faster than a sparrow.

We know we are the best.
Let’s put it to the test.
Prove we are worthy champions
From The South Pole to the Grampians.

Just see our motivation:
Our hope is our foundation.
We’re full of self belief
And going to cause some grief.

We know we are so great.
To play we cannot wait.
Once more unto the breach:
A win’s within our reach.

Paul Butters

© PB 13\1\2020. From a diary jotting 7\1.

It is me
that is destined to
be spilled across
the muddy ground.
It can be
no one else’s pelt
that warms your foyer.

Did you hunt me yourself?
Or did you find me
as I left myself
take me in
and dub me your ****?
Tell yourself it counts,
an accidental shot.

Stretch your toes
on my back
as you sip your morning coffee.
Beat me in the garden
in the spring air.
Choke on the filth
I’ve collected.

Now It’s CLEAR That I Am ... " GIFTED " ...
When It Comes To Writing Lyrics ... !!!

Articulated Scriptures ...
That Paint Descriptive Pictures ...
of How It Is We’re Living ...

Ism After ... ISM ...
Corruption and Division ...
That’s Bred By Politicians ...

EVEN ON A Day Like THIS ...

December ... 25th ...

I’m STILL Presenting Gifts ...

Through Written Scripts Like THIS ... !!!

That QUICKLY FLIP ...
DIFFERENT Subjects ... !!!

From Politics To Those Whose Gifts ...
Gave Out Some ... SERIOUS LIKS’ ... !!!!!!

Just Like The GREAT ... “ King Viv “ ... !!!

A Cricketer ... SO GIFTED ... !!!
When It Came To Playing Cricket ...
And PROTECTING ... His Wicket ...
That Bowlers RARELY Hit It ... !!!!!!!!

While Others Like ... USAIN ...
Had Gifts That Made Them Train ...
In Ways That Gained ... " Olympic Fame " ... !!!
TOO Many IN FACT ... For This Poem To Name ... !!!

So Let’s Move On ...
To Gifts That Belong ...
In ... OTHER Realms ...

Like ****** Gifts ...
YES ... BIG OL’ Well ...

You Know What It Is ... Or ... Do You ... ?!?

Do You Know What It Is To Be The One Who GIVES ...
MULTIPLE ... ******* Rides ... !!!?!!!

Well I’m ... One of THOSE GUYS ... !!!!!
My Ex and I ... ENJOYED Those Nights ....
Where She Would Be Riding Just Like ...
Those Guys With Gifts To Ride Motorbikes ...

In Ways That THRILLED When She Got FILLED ...
With MUCH MORE Than The ... AVERAGE Man ...
And YES That’s FACT So ... DON’T Doubt That ... !!!!!!!

Such Gifts Are COOL But Now I’m Fuelled ...
To Use My Gifts To ... EXPLAIN Things ...

As I Said At The Start I Now Use My ARM ...
To ARTICULATE Visions of How We’re Now Living ...

So Gifts of THIS TYPE ...
Tend To CHALLENGE The Minds ...
of Those Who Are ...................................................... “ Sly “ ...

Because of The Gift That ... REALITY Brings ... !!!
A Bite That DEFIES The Spreading of LIES ... !!!

But One That Bears Witness ...
To TRUTH And LESS Sinning ... !!!

So ... As I Now End ...
I’m Back To The Beginning ... !!!

I Articulate Scriptures ...
That Paint Descriptive Pictures ...
of How It Is ... " We’re Living " ...

Because It’s ... CLEAR ...
When It Comes To Writing Lyrics ...

That I Am One ... Who’s ...

.......... “ GIFTED “ ..........