Feats of Clay

 

I know he was no longer

Clay once he became Ali

 

I could not resist the pun;

And if you don’t recall,

If you never knew, he

Was a funny guy (funny

As the word “guy”)

 

Humor charged his

Boasts—reality charged

The rest that really

Mattered

 

He was the greatest:

Neither the floating

Butterfly nor the stinging

Bee would  disagree—nor

Would opponents, once

Rested and articulate

Again

 

I heard athletic adversaries

Talking throughout the

Day

 

I also, years ago, watched

His performance in a

Television-movie: he

Played a humble man

 

Wanting to improve

Himself against the odds

 

No surprise, his character

Was convincing

 

In life, he proved his wider

Claims; he showed that

Black boxing can hit

History

 

I don’t like boxing, but I like

What he did

 

I like how he believed

 

Older than my siblings (I

Am in the middle), three

Of us from the same town,

 

Famous for other matters—

Horserace and the classic

Baseball bat

 

I’ll take him first for our

Shared city

 

And what he made there

 

Victory and better days