Tree Climbing

As a boy I loved climbing trees.
I had tousled hair, grazed knees,
and William Brown was my hero.

Confident, strong-willed, reliable
in a tight corner,
responsible when necessary,
William was a born leader.

Recently a gang of ‘big boys’
(who, to a man,
appear willing to sink as low
as it takes to get as high as they can)
have been busy negotiating
a tangle of branches
in order to reach the top of a tree.

Many have fallen.
And now there are two.

But has either of them got what it takes?
Who is the born leader?
Can one of them now become a hero?

I don’t suppose so
but one will reach the top
and stay there, till he fucks up spectacularly
or the branch he’s perched upon breaks.

Of course, when he hits the cushioned ground
he’ll probably be well rewarded
and feel very little pain.
Then another gang will appear
and begin to climb again.



Note:
I’m sure you know, but…

The Just William series is a sequence of thirty-nine books written by English author Richmal Crompton. The books chronicle the adventures of unruly schoolboy William Brown.