Almanac Poetry: The Poet Who Got the Grant Instead of You
Fight with Cudgels, by Francisco de Goya, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. [Wikimedia Commons.]
The Poet Who Got the Grant Instead of You
Ah, we laughed
…well, I did,
you didn’t,
your expression was deadly serious…
when that poet whose work you hated
got the grant instead of you.
You whose pose
was, typically,
to be above
such tawdry, worldly matters
could hardly bear it
– I could see that –
when that poet got the grant instead of you.
I know you needed the money,
desperately.
You seethed when the poet
whose work you firmly believed
was inherently inferior to yours
got that fucking grant instead of you.
You went on about it for hours.
With each beer, your spleen increased
about that no-talent loser
who got the grant instead of you.
Well, mate, she’s still going strong
and writing,
decades later, like you.
In the end, who won, who lost?
Who fucking cares?
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws…I’m Feeling Too Indolent, is available HERE
Read more Almanac Poetry HERE
If you would like to receive the Almanac Music and Poetry newsletter we will add you to the list. Please email us: [email protected]
To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.
Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.
Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help things keep ticking over please consider making your own contribution.
Become an Almanac (annual) member – click HERE.
About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His fifth book-length poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws ... I'm Feeling Too Indolent, was published in late 2023 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Love this! Our human frailty always central to our being, for better and …
Thanks, Rick. Exactly…
That gave me a laugh!
Great, Pards – I’m pleased it did!
I’m saying nothing! But, I know the feelling.
Thank you, Jim. So many writers – and artists generally – could relate to this poem, I feel.
In the tradition of Clive James’ The book of my enemy has been remaindered’. Terrific.
Thanks, Bernard – so pleased you enjoyed it.
And yes, your Clive James reference is spot-on.