The Blazing Rag’s a seedy inn
Go past each day; I’ve not been in
A motley crowd reclines inside
So I don’t saunter past; I stride!
Pub crawling home deep in the night
Pugnacious punters sometimes fight
Their voices echo in the dark
Punch holes in peace across the park
The Blazing Rag’s of ill repute
A viper’s nest; I don’t dispute
Yet trophies glitter midst the grime
Awards in frames from former time
When long before my beery birth
Men downed their merry mugs of mirth
And diced with dominoes and darts
Let beer bind up their broken hearts
My beer, I drink at home from cans
I let the tradesmen in white vans
Frequent that bar to stand and sup
From grimy glass or chip-kissed cup
But one day, I’ll pack poet’s bag
And brave that bar: The Blazing Rag
I’ll hail the barman: “draw me off
A pearly pint, to quickly quaff”
And maybe, if the pint does please
I’ll warm to them and feel at ease
‘Mong brother boozers built like me
Sad sailors on a stormy sea
All killing time with noble ale
Inside the body of this whale
A hundred million miles from home
Beneath a dark, despotic dome
Where I feel now the poet’s call
To share my liquored lines with all
Perhaps perform while pints they nurse
To entertain them with my verse!
But maybe that’s for future times
When Blazing Rag feels need of rhymes
For now, I’ll sit with them and sup
And watch the Twenty First World Cup!