The Greatest

Ali known at the time as "Cassius Clay" defeats Sonny Liston for the Heavyweight title of the world.

It's hard to express this in words

for the younger generation

But when I was just a small lad

heavyweight fights led the nation

It wasn't that we didn't care

for the struggle of civil rights

It was just that back in those days

men worshiped the heavyweight fights

 

While Martin Luther had a place

in the hearts and minds of us all

It was the audacious Ali

who held the boxing world in thrall

He was Cassius Marcellus Clay

born in nineteen forty two

A victor at the Olympics

from where his legend only grew

 

He had made short work of Liston

who had mauled way more than a few

In a fight where barely a soul

had known what this great champ could do

 He then changed his name to Ali

going on to crush all comers

Taunting each of the challengers

for what seemed like endless summers

 

But then he'd dared refuse the draft

while men cried in lamentation

"How could the great Heavyweight Champ

bring such disgrace to our nation"

The commissioners took his title

along with his Olympic gold

They knocked him down, and took his crown

crying "How dare he be so bold"

 

Here this man had stood by himself

 took the pain dealt to him alone

For all the things that he believed

he was willing to lose his throne

Though as we all found out later

he was right to protest that war

Ali stood by his convictions

and soon he would do even more

 

At the end of his long career

 after Larry Holmes won their fight

I asked a close black friend of mine

"just who did you bet on tonight"

"I put my money on the champ

he fights with such malignity

I guess I knew, that he was through

but he gave me my dignity"

 

 

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Author's Note

Very few people ever become so famous that we know them by their first name. But Ali was the Greatest fighter ever. He stirred the core of every man alive at the time. Forced us to look at ourselves and through that glass we came to admire him. Later he became a great humanitarian. Saving the lives of the hostages in the first Iraq war. He received a new gold medal from the Olympic committee at the Atlanta games,to replace the one taken from him. Misunderstood? Sure he was. Loved and admired around the world? Your Damn Right he is! In later years Ali has contracted Parkinson's disease. However a man once interviewed him many years after his retirement. Ali took him out to the barn to see his dusty trophies laying about. "You know" he said. "Here are the things I strove so hard for many years of my life.They didn't mean a thing when you compare them to what really matters." Well he mattered. At least to the rest of us. He is today as he has been for many years one of the most Iconic and beloved figures of the modern era. There is only One Ali!
So here is to the greatest fighter and one of the greatest men who ever lived.

Reviews

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

[OBWhiteHawk]

Great! I remember when I was a real young boy and Ali was coming to the end of his career but his legacy lives on forever. Awesome!

[Rene Velez]

yes he was, yes he was Tate, yes he was.

[minisla]

Lovely tribute to the greatest

[TrimarcoRansome]

Even those without boxing interest gathered to watch the Great Ali! I love history and they way you threw historic nuggets int this was just brilliant. Well done, great tribute to a great man.

[Mockingbird]

that was very informative. i don't know anything about the man, he was before my time. but now i learned that he had integrity as a human being and followed his principles. great subject.

[Coyote Poetry]

I was lucky. I was raised from a child with this great man in view on TV. Video and words gave honor to the great man. He was more than a boxer. He stood for his belief. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry and amazing video.
Coyote

[Glen Yumang Manese]

WHAT AN INSPIRATIONAL WRITE YOU WEAVE IN THE LINES...YOU GIVE US THE STORY OF A LEGEND AND THE ADVERSITY TO OVERCOME...THE LINES JUST ECHO LIKE A BIOGRAPHY HERE IN THE READ...AND THEN YOU ADD EVEN MORE FOR US IN YOUR AUTHOR'S NOTE...WELL-VERSED...

[David Lewis Paget]

This was so long ago, Tate, but your poem brought it all back with a rush. Gassius Cassius they called him, because he could never shut up. He taunted his opponents in a steady stream of verbiage, which was highly amusing to everyone but his victims. Good write.

[koty bell]

This was very touching man and also touched me beautifal sir just beautiful