Look,
I’m not much of a toilet brawler
Don’t like a taxi rank skirmish
I do like a drink
But I don’t get churlish
Don’t like aggro
Prefer to walk away from it all
Because nobody wants to end up like Paul.
Not me
Not you
Not what Paul’s been through
Knocked clean out
In a dirty nightclub loo
Sound funny?
It isn’t.
Paul’s head hit the cistern.
Coma for weeks
If only his friends had of listened
If they’d left it where it started
Way back at the bar
If they’d walked away and laughed
Joking about it from afar
But Paul’s mates liked a rumble
When the drink was inside
Everyone’s Mike Tyson
When the night comes alive
Spilled drinks
Crossed words
Things mistakenly overhead
Eye contact
The contest
Who backs down first?
Was never Paul’s mates
All alive with the thirst
Paul wasn’t like that.
A considerate young lad
Didn’t see the point in it
People acting mad
He was there for a laugh
Not for a scrap
Only fight he’d had
At 5 his sister gave him a slap
But boys will be boys
And mates are your group
So Paul was stood there
When it got thrown out of loop
When the testosterone boiled
And the aggravation bubbled
And suddenly
There it was
A whole lot of trouble
Bystander calmed it
Just a spilled drink they’d said
But Paul’s mates kept on shouting
And their opponents turned their heads
Walking away
For now, at least.
And Paul felt relief
As he slid into a seat
Two drinks later
A bit of dancing
Bit of flirting
And Paul’s last worry
Was of any more trouble occurring
Into the toilet
To empty the bladder
As he unzipped
He heard the chatter
The lads from before
Not his friends, but the foes
Planning an attack
When the club came to close
Paul should have stayed quiet
But peacemaker kicked in
Lads came out the toilet
The story gets grim
Quick recognition
A grin of realisation
Four versus one
In toilet isolation
Paul, innocent paul,
No idea of the trouble he was in
Kept talking them down
Should be saving his skin
The punch came from nowhere
Broke his jaw with the force
But Paul didn’t feel anything
Just the darkness of the fall
Head, the back of, colliding with ceramic
Paul’s consciousness, leaving the planet
Paul’s mother and father
Getting the call
Tears and terror
All because of a bathroom stall
The tendrils of influence
Stretched out that night
Lives changed forever
Because of meaningless fights
The guy who punched Paul
A promising grad
Lost control that night
And lost everything he had
Five years in jail
Guilt every day
All just because
Couldn’t keep anger at bay
And Paul’s friends got worse
Didn’t learn their lesson
Righting your wrongs
Beyond their comprehension
Even angrier nowadays
Don’t cross them on a night
But all of them cried
When they saw Paul after the fight
His head cracked open
Blood on the floor
Moaning aloud
But not here anymore
Eyes glazed over
Memory deleted
Verbal communication
Broken and fleeting
Confined to a wheelchair
A husk of what was
And all for nothing
A drunken encounter, just because
Just because some men
Justify their lives by their actions
And don’t feel like real men
If they’re not fighting or attracting
Females for fucking
Men to be battled
And bystanders like Paul
Just doe-eyed cattle
Paul’s story has a bright side
He’s not even real
But the stuff I’ve seen in my life
Tarnishes the grand reveal
Because what happened to Paul
I’ve seen more than once
I’ve watched punches thrown
Without slight remorse
All over nothing
Just beers and masculinity
Uncaring for reality
Human fragility
Let’s hope you’re not like Paul
And you’re aware of danger
Keep an eye out, for the anger of strangers
Distance yourself
When fists start to fly
Or it’ll be your mother
Who’ll weep, when she hears that you’ve died.
Last but not least,
Don’t keep the company of beasts.
Make sure your friends
Don’t have anger to unleash.
Enjoy your drinks
But beware of past midnight.
One punch can end it
Stay away from the fights.