JUSTICE 2

Waterlooville again,
I am 11/12
year of age

Coming down the avenue
after the interminable
bus journey from school,
two kids my age,
but certainly not of my kind,
approach.
They bully and cajole me,
one of them insisting I
fight the other.
They're nasty pushy
and belligerent,
I am not enjoying the experience

It was the age of skinheads
and strop,
there was a constant
threat for all us relatively
decent kids
from this troop
of young degenerates.

In this scenario type
there were generally
two options available:
run for it
or take the punishment;
resistance was futile

So, we're trucking
down my 'road',
and these kids are still at it,
getting ever more aggressive.
I'd had enough of this shit,
I knew it was an ongoing situation
but I sensed a window of opportunity

These brats did not know
where I lived!
It was a precious piece
of information.

The taunting continued.
I watched, waited,
patient, alert,
like a panther stalking its prey.
We reached the lawn
outside my house,
the moment had come!

Mid-sentence through
another stream
of provocative crap
I punched my prospective
opponent as hard as I could
in the gob,
tore across the lawn
and entered the safety
of my home

They were stunned
and defeated.
Shock and surprise
had worked their magic.
Fortunately they were just
a bit too young to dare
enter the house.
They hung around a while
in a menacing but ultimately
pathetic beaten way,
until my ma drove up
in her car
at which point
they beat a hasty retreat