The Man Who Would Be King: A Poetic Tribute
He is no more.
No longer will he grace the emerald fields
Every tiny blade of grass his domain.
No longer will he stand tall and proud
Shoulder-to-shoulder with his friends, his foes, his family.
He came to us a mere boy, an upstart prince of Denmark.
And his birth and breeding were apparent in his every touch.
Those of royal blood sought him out and took him as a consort-
Men and women both wished to be with him.
His youthful vigour could not aid our plight at first-
He watched the man from Croatia shatter and fall
The man from the Netherlands break down
And the man from Togo abandon all hope.
He alone stayed loyal-his loss like another prince of Denmark
But he carried Claudius in his mind.
He felt the pressure to be great, to fulfill his noble promise
To be the man his master wanted him to become.
And so he became proud, vainglorious, reckless
His contribution flourished, his constitution floundered.
The people once so enamoured, became frustrated.
This boy was not yet a man, a king
Yet his every stride was royal.
They could not feel his anguish, his desire
To please, to achieve, to complete his goals.
He travelled far and wide, from centre to flank
To furthest Wearside, to exotic Turin.
Until he returned once more, hardened by his travels
But changed.
A Ronin now, his companions fled
But he would not die.
He would take his place in this new world, this new
Arsenal, who strove for glory.
Untrusted and unloved, he fought bravely nonetheless
What meagre foes he faced he vanquished with aplomb.
But a new prince, as young and brave as he
Appeared, and the master favoured him, his graft and guile.
And so Sir Nicklas is cast out
His trials at an end, he must find a new flag to fight under.
At once further and closer to home
Where he was born and where he was made.
His absence may be scarcely felt on the Emirates grass
But in every Arsenal heart, a piece will be missing.
A piece of the man who would be king.
Nicklas Bendtner: Arsenal 2004-14
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