Page 12-13

INCIDENT

Hey, Doc'! Pardon, Sir, I meant Major. They say the Kid was hurt last night. You know, my Bud', the battler? Slim, blonde, puts out a fight? I heard the Corpsmen talkin' They said the Kid was bad. Jesus, Sir! You'd tell a fella - The Kid's all I ever had! He's dead! Never knew what hit him? A wreck? Why, Sir, the Major's wrong! The Kid came in last evenin' An' Gawd knows that ain't long! An' just because my leg is broke He wuz kiddin' me to death ... To ... death ... my budedy's dead then ... It kinda takes my breath. Where is he, Doc'? The Post Morgue? That little house of stone? Get me outa here, Sir, I'm goin' The Kid's in there alone! Sure I know my leg is busted But, Hell, Man, I can crawl! I don't want nobody with me I can guide along the wall! Take that 'hypo' outa here, Sergeant! Why ... Major ... that ain't fair ... I ran with the Kid a week ago. Had him shapin' pretty fair. This goddam morphine gets me ... Kid! Lay off that dame in red! You can't mix dames and battlin' An' ya can't win fights in bed! Roll in-under that left a' his Then pivot up an' hook! Don't let'm box but fight him! This guy fights by the book! I'm gettin' punch drunk - damn this morphine - It starts buzzin' in my head! Hey, Kid! Kid! Why sparrin' pardner, They told me you was dead!

Bradley boxed while stationed at Fort Brady in 1928. In his University of Chicago poetry column, Bradley frequently used the pseudonym of Stumblebum. Stumble bum: a fighter who has fought his last fight and is a bit punch drunk.

Lissen Kid

Oct 31, 1928