Ode to Becks: Britain’s poet laureate laments David Beckham’s Achilles tendon
By APWednesday, March 17, 2010
British poet laureate pens ode to injured Beckham
LONDON — O Beckham, where art thou?
David Beckham has become an unlikely muse to Britain’s poet laureate, who has written a verse about the soccer star’s career-threatening injury.
The former England captain tore his Achilles tendon in a game on Sunday and will miss the World Cup in June as he recovers from surgery.
Carol Anne Duffy’s poem imagines Beckham as Greek hero Achilles, who was invulnerable except for his heel — the origin of the name Achilles tendon.
Duffy says she was inspired because Beckham “is almost a mythical figure himself, in popular culture.”
Duffy was appointed to the centuries-old post of national poet last year. So far her compositions have tackled the passing of the last British veterans of World War I and the scandal over lawmakers’ inflated expenses.
