A Cage To Hold My Dreams
Darling Lillian
(Written after reading that the champion athlete
Lillian Board was dying of cancer in 1970, aged 22)
When the news broke
there was nothing we could say.
we had seen you sprint,
knew you were a fighter,
figured you might stay ahead
when the running got tough
Go, little queenie,
we called from the sidelines,
those of us with a heart
and a belief in miracles.
We loved you, Lillian,
loved your butch face, bright eyes,
and the driving poetry of your legs.
A chirpy little tomboy from Essex
winning medals in far-off places.
Go, little queenie,
we shouted from the sidelines,
those of us with a heart
and a belief in miracles.
I am no newcomer
to sad farewells and skeletal smiles
at the finishing line
but you are a mere child,
my darling Lillian,
and my grief is overwhelming.
Stay, little queenie
we pray from the sidelines
hoping that God has the heart
to deliver a miracle.
