(November 9 - 1937 / Liverpool / England)

poet Roger McGough
#52 on top 500 poets
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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

Submitted: Friday, January 03, 2003
Edited: Tuesday, May 31, 2011


Read poems about / on: daughter, car, death, silver, son, hair, red, home, angel, fear

Comments about this poem (Let Me Die A Youngman's Death by Roger McGough )

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  • Warner Treuter (5/8/2013 2:54:00 AM)

    This is an ugly poem a, a stupid poem, a hellish poem - but an artistically, undeniably really damn good poem nevertheless.

    2 person liked.
    		2 person did not like.
  • Claire Thomas (4/13/2013 2:07:00 PM)

    Il grow old{i hope} but never up.Saw Him at the playhouse recently and was pleasantly suprised.Great to hear itrecieted.

    4 person liked.
    		0 person did not like.
  • Justin Gonzalez (1/12/2013 4:37:00 AM)

    I love this guy, his mind is in the right place.: P

    5 person liked.
    		3 person did not like.
  • Cecilie Bolvig (11/1/2012 1:08:00 PM)

    woow that shocked me

    4 person liked.
    		6 person did not like.
  • Sreelekha Premjit (9/11/2012 8:37:00 AM)

    what an attitude! lovely!

    10 person liked.
    		2 person did not like.
  • Cassandra Coghlan (4/24/2012 12:32:00 PM)

    This poem causes resentment to well up inside me. Not that I want it to, its a great poem. My indignation comes from knowing how it feels to lose a young man to a young man's life. He was 28. A long life has its own privileges, and price. How dare it feel it the right to turn what is a young man's price into its cherry on top.

    8 person liked.
    		24 person did not like.
  • Matt Mooney (1/19/2012 10:17:00 AM)

    Found your 'Waving at Trains' in a café bookstore in Bondi Beach and loved it. The ingrained humour in this poem is another example of how you turn the serious side of life away from us and yet heighten the meaningfulness of the message in the poem.

    10 person liked.
    		12 person did not like.
  • Bou Aliyya (7/17/2010 6:07:00 AM)

    When I was 20 I took this poem as my motto.
    Today, at 64 and sitting in a hostel in the old city part of Kashgar on the Silk Road, in sweltering temperatures - it's STILL my motto.

    Is it still yours, Roger and, if so, what are you doing about it?

    29 person liked.
    		11 person did not like.
  • Shannon Monroe (2/15/2010 8:38:00 AM)

    very good, its very intersting. i liked it.

    7 person liked.
    		11 person did not like.
  • Jack Williams (8/24/2009 5:39:00 AM)

    This poem made me chuckle, and, what's more, I agree!

    13 person liked.
    		8 person did not like.
Read all 37 comments »

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