KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE

(For John Lewis 1940-2020)

When Dr King led the March on Washington in 1963

You were the youngest leader to address the crowd

And you died the last remaining speaker,

Eighty years old with strength and individuality

Acquired slowly and painfully;

The still visible baton scars

From freedom bus rides

And other peaceful protests

Prove it.

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THAT SOUND

(For Little Richard)

You liked to make a noise

Banging pots and pans

To accompany

Your boyhood singing

And always raising the key

Until they threw you

Out of the church choir

For making ’that sound’.

Later it made you great

A wop bap a loop bop

Tutti Frutti

Good Golly Miss Molly!

In and out of religion

And of confusing sex...

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A ROUGH DIAMOND
(For Norman Hunter 1943-2020)

His name always evokes a smile
On the faces of footballers
Schooled on the uneven battlefields
Of a different era.

Days of the enthusiastic header,
Demolition shoulder,
Iron obstruction
And scything tackle.

Even those who carry no torch
For Leeds United or England
Today nod in respect
For a player who did as asked

And fulfilled hi...

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