Johnson Jack - The big smoke

Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com First published in Penguin Books 2013 Copyright Adrian Matejka, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions. constitute an extension of this copyright page. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Matejka, Adrian, 1971 [Poems.

Selections] The Big Smoke / Adrian Matejka. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-101-61308-5 I. Title. PS3613.A825B54 2013 811.6dc23 2012045786

Back then, theyd chain a bear in the middle of the bear garden & let the dogs loose. Iron chains around a bears neck dont slow him too much. A bear will always make short work of a dog. & since most creatures are naturally afraid of bears, there wouldnt always be much of a show in the bear garden. & since most creatures are naturally afraid of bears, there wouldnt always be much of a show in the bear garden.

So the handlers sometimes put the bears eyes out or took his teeth to make the fight more sporting. I believe you need eyes more than you need teeth in a fight, but losing either makes a bear a little less mean. Once baiting was against the law, some smart somebody figured coloreds fight just as hard if hungry enough. So they rounded up the skinniest of us, had us strip to trousers, then blindfolded us before the fight. They turned us in hard circles a few times on the ring steps like a motorcar engine before pushing us between the ropes. When the bell rang, it seemed like I got hit from eight directions.

I didnt know where those punches came from, but I swung so hard my shoulder hasnt been right since because the man said only the last darky on his feet gets a meal.