KEVIN ROBERTS

ALIVE AND GIGGING

Adults – £16.  Fools – £14.  Students/U25s – £8.

(Send in the Fools!!)

One of my two favourite poets from the 60’s (alongside Richard Brautigan) is still alive and gigging – at 87 years old.  He’s living up to his most famous poem ‘Let me Die a Youngman’s Death’. 

Let me die a youngman’s death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I’m 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I’m 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber’s chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I’m 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a youngman’s death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
‘what a nice way to go’ death

I’ll miss him on his next date in neighbouring Bowness on October 17th.  Maybe next year!!!

Check out his Collected Works – 1959 – 2023.

Recent Posts

Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts is founder of Red Rose Consulting; business leader and educator; author and speaker; adviser on marketing, creative thinking and leadership.

READ MORE

Books on Amazon.com

Previous
Next

Join us. Sign up for our blog.

Receive our regular updates in your in-box.