The Pugilist

He sits by the doorway in quiet and grace
Battle worn knuckles body and face
In the winter of life I’m told back in his prime
He’d stand toe to toe with any man any time
He worked in the shipyards toolmaker by trade
No quarter was asked and a wager was laid
He fought Nunkie Roe a great hulk of a man
And bore him down like John L Sullivan
In the Griffin they’d seek him from far and from wide
From the booths from the yards from the riverside
His standing was known for a hundred hundred miles
As they came so they’d fall just like nine pin kyles
A brawler came knocking as gnarled as a tree
From old Ireland he hailed by the name of McGee
His nose broke and splayed said I’ll fight any Joe
For a pound for a drink for the hell for a go
The blood spilled like wine and Mann he saw red
Bludgeoned the Irish fierce to the head
McGee hit the ground as hard as a train
Cold as a stone and didn’t wake up again
So he sits by the doorway in quiet and grace
Battle worn knuckles body and face
And the punks messin' round well they pay him no due
And I think to myself
Hell if they only knew!