Layered
Cake
I’ve
known many unsavory characters from my home city of Manchester
There’s
the ex-demolition guy who took a great dislike to me
Did
he have visions of blowing me up instead of my old car?
He
had a trainee apprentice in the wings and had connections
I
knew several football hooligans who fought for what?
For
England, their home team, themselves, for violence?
Each
told me a story of Rah-Rah-Rah Here We Go Lads!
One fought
riot cops in Poland and was jailed in a sanatorium
He somehow escaped
and was banned from Poland for life
The other
was a City fan and battled his opponents in Greece
He was 45
and still loved a good tear up on match days
Drug dealers
prominently featured in the city and surrounding towns
One dark
night in my home town I saw an ex-dealer shot dead
I heard
then saw the BMW getaway car zoom off
Oddly I thought
I heard two gunshots after it had gone
The ex-dealer’s
wife asked me to help and I tried to
But there
was nothing I could do but call the medics
Chavs are
the worst in my town and others
Council House
And Violent and ruling the tough estates
With their
violence, crime, dealing and other acts
Not going
to school or college but sleeping all day
And drinking
and smoking weed all night with their underage gals
But when do
they have time to do their crimes?
There are
the plastic gangsters who think they’re it
Maybe with
their mates they can burst a paper bag
Or intimidate
innocent law abiding citizens who are meek
Further afield
I met a gangster in Liverpool who was alrite
He liked a
right tear up and had a job to appear legit
But his
real work was in various things like drugs, guns and cash
He offered
me a job as a courier because my car was old and gray
I said no
for its easy in and never ever out
The English
racists were a breed apart who hated all skins
I got on
with one who liked metal but we clashed on views
He loathed
foreigners and wanted them all out
And insisted
that white men stick to white women
Most scary
of all I met a killer on the run in Newcastle
We were on
the ship disco by the river having fun
This guy
had a real flirty wife called Carmen
I danced
with her and later talked to her husband
He schitzed
out and went mad but not for chatting with his gal
I asked
what’s wrong and he admitted to killing a man
And said he
didn’t know me from Adam so be quiet!
He was a
Londoner and I said you did it for your own reasons
His wife
consoled him when he had flashbacks
Ex-servicemen
gave me a few problems over the years
I was
drinking in my local pub when a para and a marine argued
First with
one another and then with me over who was best
They hated
the air force and me wearing an Air Force badge
Maybe they
needed a war to get their heads blown off?
There were
many fighters who lived to fight and cause trouble
Some had a
go at me I tried to avoid their skills but heard their stories
Some were
nutters but others quite pally and fine lads
There were brawlers,
boxers, Martial Artists and more
Near the
Mess House pub in Oldham guys die by a single punch
These savory
and unsavory characters were the fabric of England
Some I remember
and many I forget for right or wrong reasons
Their stories
live on here my poem for you to judge
