The Man From Martinique Poem by Tony Jolley

They say of John Wayne that he ‘walked with a drawl’,
But ‘though he always seemed somewhat slow
And to be veering [even steering] more than slightly to one side
[Picture any picture you ever saw him in
And find yourself smiling in recognition],
You could never accuse him of being overly leisurely –
[He’d have shot you, had you! ]
For he exuded a tightly drawn, kinetic intent
Which filled every frame
And carried him far faster than could his feet.

Well, the Man from Martinique
Walks a little like, yet still a little unlike, him.

Wayne shot from the hip
Whereas Mr Martinique walks from it
With all the unhurried grace
And languid, lilting pace
Of a man who measures his days
In value, and not what it pays.

What strikes one above all is the ease
Of movement from neck down to knees
Devoid of ungainly, angular motion
Or of anything at all to gainsay the notion
That here is a man completely at home
Whatever the road he chooses to roam.