The Contender

The Contender

by Madeleine Graham

Rope-a-dope reality
Ripped into Muhammad Ali
Altering the rhythm
Changing the rhyme
Clipped the wings of my butterfly
Stripped of verbal linguistic juice
But not of mind and not of time
Just can't speak that next line
A TKO outside the ring
Sidelined my hero my poetry king
Unfair fight cry I
To a memory I can't let die
For in him see I
The mastermind of verbal lines
Now recall the man
The civil stand
Stood for people
And for lands
No bar holds
Not this man
Philosopher
Painter of the ring
Sure could dance
and knew how to swing
But best of all
Was the joy he'd bring
With verbal language poetic king
Raised the gloves taunting his foe
Better believe you'd feel the blow
And the crowd would listen for the words you know
Float like a butterfly
Sting like a bee
My name's Muhammad Ali
Made the government do a backstand
Never did raise a gun
How everybody listened and knew he'd won
Poetic Painter cast his spell
Upon the famous Howard Cosell
The lights would dim upon the crows
Ali on stage watch him now
Better dancer than Fred Astaire
Just took it to the ring instead of the chair
Cameras honing in
To listen to the words upon his win
Ali champion once again
Now quieter times have come his way
But the crowds still listen for the words he will say
Though spoken in softer, quieter tones
His eyes speak volumes
And the crowd still applauds
For the man who is loved here and abroad.