Poetry

A Response

Kevin Densley

 

A biased bloke, a quiet bigot,
he possessed the common sense
not to parade his lesser side
before an adoring public.

He was part of a Mason/Catholic divide
in his Test side during the thirties,
“liked to hear the sound of his own voice”,
according to Len Hutton.

Was as blunt as a sawn-off twenty-two
when the cricket wasn’t up to scratch.
“Geez, you bowled some rubbish, son,”
he once chided a young Test bowler.

A man who seemed to dislike
the public’s unstinting gaze,
yet couldn’t have done without it:
it made him who he was.

Cocky and smug, this little chap,
antithesis of the Aussie “mate”,
with the sporting genius’ age-old curse
of not fitting in with the team.