JOHNNY WALKER RED

              Picture by Roger Whitney

Like the liquor, he was named Johnny Walker Red
Cause it was a one night stand, that's all his Pa said
Bullied by all the Uncles, spending the nights with his Ma
He never heard a good word said about the man who was his Pa
His Ma moved without telling him when he was at school one day
Johnny seemed to learn all of life’s lessons the hardest way
Luck was on his side though it always seemed to keep him out of jail
But his actions said that someday he would surely end up in hell
His life on the streets was a constant act of survival and crime
Till he stole a guitar he had nothing better to do with his time
He started on a street corner singing the only song he knew
When a man walking by handed him a dollar saying this is for you
It was plain even to him he'd never be a Grand Ole Opery star
But by legal panhandling he was sure he could go twice as far
Thirty years later and still playing for lose change on the street
He has been heard to say, life’s had me down but it never had me beat
   Bear

Author's Note

I leave most punctuation to the reader that they can read the poem in their own meter, mood and motility. I thank you for taking the time to read my work.

Reviews

[Ronnie]

wow bear, this is amazing, the story and the way of reading it, will done, everything with the word guitar grabs my attention. keep it up.

[Bear]

Thank you for the kind words :~)

[PANDORA]

The title drew me in and the piece did not disappoint. I really like the ending. It should be an anthem. I am listening to Frank Sinatra singing, "Young At Heart" as I write this and it is so apropos to this piece.

You are a great writer. I love reading your work.

[Bear]

Thank you for the great review, I am glad you enjoy my work and it is nice to find another rat pack lover :~)

[Not here]

thank you very much :) i love the rhymes and i was gonna suggest adding punctuation, but really the note you put makes a lot of sense. great write!

[Bear]

Rhyme is my thing and thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave your thoughts, feel free to stop by anytime :~)

[JMoo]

Reminded me of the song A Man Named Sue, How Do You Do. Very thought provoking

[Bear]

Oh yeah that was a good one, Johnny Cash sang that. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment, I hope to be entertaining if nothing else :~)

[JMoo]

You nailed it Bear

[Gee]

Sweet,liked the story told and the rhyme doing it.Nice one Bear

[Bear]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[Devons]

A skilfully conveyed and engagingly winsome cameo portrait of a life. Dealing with salient points in effective and compact details, the world and character of the individual is substantiated without the need for over-examination or psycho-analysis - the important tenets of his life are merely described as they are, yet still inspiring perception on the part of the reader. All in all it creates a complete picture by suggestion and hints (in fact, sometimes one pithy sentence can capture the essence of a person without further elaboration).
The rhyme and rhythm is artfully handled, and it could almost be a country song - there are many elements which fit exactly with the kind of thing 'Red' (and people like him, since this has a universal feel) would sing himself (kind of like Blues with the irony of realism). And there is a real sense of truth and allegory here too.
This is written with intelligence and true artisan professionalism. A thoroughly enjoyable poem to read, and soulfully enriching.

NB in the 7th line the word "seem" should be "seemed", should it not? Think you missed it!

[Bear]

Thank you for such an engaging review and thank you for catching the missing ed, that wouldn't have happened if I had cut and pasted the poem but no I could type it faster than looking for the poem in my files :~/ glad you enjoyed it.

[Devons]

You produced a lot of life in this piece..
I know what you mean about typing - I really enjoy it, and sometimes you can't entirely trust other methods!

[Bear]

I have a problem that most people don't when it comes to typing, I have very large hands and hitting a single key is a challenge. Measuring around my fist is almost 15 inches, but I still would rather type than have to hand write something.

[Devons]

I used to love writing longhand, but my handwriting has deteriorated since the advent of computer keyboards - it just feels so natural somehow, why didn't they think of it before?!
PS I think I could get two of my fists into your one!

[Bear]

People have always said I was built like a football player not a writer and I always ask how many writers did they every hear of suffer a injury from hitting a typewriter key to hard :~)

[Devons]

I bet there's someone who has though - there's always one!

[Bear]

Ha! Ha! Your probably right.

[Indra Neil]

a riveting write with wonderful rhyme flow! I like how you have ended the poem on a positive and inspiring note!

[Bear]

Thank you, I almost went with a tear jerk-er ending but I could never get it to sound right.

[Indra Neil]

u r welcome! it is very good!