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Graft
Ben Wilkinson
It must get easier over time though
he smiles, guessing
drills in the blistering cold,
running full tilt
can’t be as hard as it sounds,
mile after mile
climbing the old hill
of weakness versus the will
else how do you do it?
Again, the sorry hope
that it might come simply
shows its idle head,
or worse, attempts
to dismiss its own failure
as the luck, chance
or dumb skill of the best.
We’re all guilty of it.
No wonder in a world
where wealth is laid
for some on a gilded plate.
But anything worthwhile
is pure heart and courage.
I’m not talking the rich
and their inheritance.
Fuck that shit. Graft hard,
and hold true to this –
no-one got anywhere fast
without striving for it.
Ben Wilkinson's For Real (2014) won the Poetry Business Competition and the Northern Promised Award at the Northern Writers' Awards. He is a keen runner, and among other things, reviews new poetry for the Guardian and works as an editor for the Poetry Archive.
Well Versed is edited by Jody Porter – wveditor@gmail.com
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