Sixty years ago a sign in the Smithton Football clubrooms inspired players to keep on striving. It is also so meaningful when I have been fighting life-threatening illness
Fight in the Dog
It’s not the ‘size of the dog’ in the fight
That counts when aspects of life get you down,
It’s the ‘fight in the dog’ that gives you might.
When aspects of life are far from right,
Overwhelmingly you feel you’ll drown,
It’s not the ‘size of the dog’ in the fight
Be positive, acknowledge your plight,
Minimise the chance of a mental breakdown,
It’s the ‘fight in the dog’ that gives you might.
When the going gets tough, threatens to smite,
Take stock, it is not the time to shutdown,
It’s not the ‘size of the dog’ in the fight.
There’s nothing quite like the utter delight
When you commence to turn things around,
It’s the ‘fight in the dog’ that gives you might.
.
You’ve increased the odds for being all right
By choosing to smile instead of a frown.
It’s not the ‘size of the dog’ in the fight,
It’s the ‘fight in the dog’ that gives you might.
Playing with the Villanelle (pastoral Italian form from 16th Century) form of poetry
Bill Edmunds
November 2020.
billedmunds.com
Bill Edmunds 