BEAUTIFUL TO WATCH

Since the accident I walk slower,
Go to physio once a month and get laid,
I wish, get laid out, bitch, I love her.
My wheelchair is a lightweight model,
Stows away in the car just in case
And sometimes I give in and use it,
Spin myself down to the corner mailbox.
Jamie is coming to stay with me
For a few days, he doesn't get much time
To relax and he likes it here, the sea
And the countryside restore him.
I first met him at a match, he bowled
six overs of uninhibited pace,
Took three wickets including mine
And scored a glorious and sudden nought.
We went out to eat and became friends;
He missed his dad I think and well,
My kids are a long way away,
Grown up and making babies so
I let him walk all over me.
He made it into a county side,
On a trial, no contract but
A good chance of making the team
If he could just bowl straight
Long enough to do consistent damage.
He ran too, cross country and marathon,
one of those athletes, so beautiful to watch.
When I fell off the cliff he came
To the hospital and laughed,
It was funny I suppose, I hate flying.
He said he was going to Europe,
The county hadn't offered him a contract
And he had taken a job selling cars.
That was four years ago, and now
He's different, no more sport
Ever, but he doesn't let it get to him,
He wrote and told me so, last week.
I can't wait to see him, he'll be here
Any minute now in his new van,
There he is, turning the corner,
And I wave him into a space;
The ramp comes down and Jamie,
His smart electric chair zooming
Nearly runs me down, 'You old bastard,'
Punches me with a crooked hand;
I can feel it, the disease that will kill him
But he can still hit me where it hurts.