Love and Courage
Love and Courage
the one I liked was where Cagney
fought in the ring
got punchy
so he could earn money
to give his brother
music lessons-
the brother wanted to be a
classical pianist
was said to have
great talent
but they both came from the Lower
East Side, and
so Cagney got into the ring
again and again
for money to help the talented brother
become a classical pianist.
Cagney even loses the girl-
to his brother
and it ends with his brother
making it
(at Carnegie Hall, if I remember)
and Cagney
punched-out and blind
at his newsstand
listening to the radio
to his brother in the concert
hall,
and, of course, the girl is at the
hall
adoring, wild-eyed
as Cagney warms his hands over a
small fire
alone in the cold
he listens to the radio
as his brother plays
the piano,
Cagney
not knowing shit about music
and
hearing the final applause
believes that
all the beatings he has taken
were worthwhile.
- Charles Bukowski
