Muhammad Ali Poem by John Sensele

Parkinson's disease slurred Muhammad Ali's speech
Stole his feet's speed and hammered his brain functions
But its brakes couldn't stab his indomitable spirit, which wouldn't screech
Cos Muhammad Ali soared like an eagle above sanctions
Uncle Sam slapped on his refusal
To kill the yellow man in Vietnam which he rejected
On moral grounds. Ali ducked the proposal
That contrived to have his boxing license suspended
In his prime years from twenty five to twenty nine
Years when Uncle Sam purloined his heavyweight champion
Title and barred him from the boxing ring to undermine
His career and steal the peak era when the canon
God bestowed on his punches enabling him defeat
Sonny Liston from whom he wrestled the world title
That metamorphosed him into a civil right priest
Who fought for the oppressed in Louisville, New York and Seattle.