Eye Of The Tiger

Say what you will
About Philadelphia
But there is at least
One thing that is still
Very interesting
About the place
(Besides being the
Unofficial murder capital of
The good ol’ USA)

We may be the
One and only city
That actually believes in a
Fictional athlete
(One who never actually lived
Except as a movie character
Named Rocky Balboa)

We even
Put up a statue
To honor the fictitious
Prize fighter’s
Fictitious achievements
(The statue has been
moved around a lot and
I am not sure of its final
Resting place as this poem
Is being written)

By the way
Philadelphia does actually
Happen to have
A genuine boxing hero
Who only recently
Passed away
Smokin Joe Frasier
But we haven’t yet
Gotten around to
Building a statue
To honor
Smokin Joe’s memory
(But don’t worry about it
We will!)

Balboa was portrayed
In the movie
Of the same name
By the actor
Sylvester Stallone
(Who incidentally does
Happen to trace
His roots back to Philly as
His home town)

Whatever else you may
Or may not do
When you happen to be
Visiting in Philly
Please do not be caught
Taking the names of either
Rocky Balboa
Or Sylvester Stallone in vain
(Or the name of Smokin Joe Frasier
Either for that matter)
Seriously
Don’t get caught dissing
Any of the above names
(Unless you want to be
On the receiving end
Of a whole lot of trouble
That I am sure
You do not need or want)

That last bit of advice
Incidentally
Is not just a bunch
Of false bravado
Think of it as
More in the line of
Taking out a
Life insurance policy
And you can tell
Anyone who asks that
You got it straight
From Philly’s own
Rocky Balboa
Himself
(We have a whole city
full of them!)

P.S. Yo Adrian!

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012