Investment (Poetry)

Mothball retro-look tuxedos
tailor-made for evening dress
Italian jackets teamed with chinos
creased from too much casualness.

Discard cool designer labels
let the fads of fashion pass
lock the clotheshorse in his stable
bring the stallion out to grass.

Have him flex a well-toned muscle
show his paces — pose and pout
rise above the high street hustle
prove what style is all about.

Wrap that body in pure cotton
classic with its crisp appeal
cuffs and collars all forgotten
let the garment now reveal

what is male — the athlete’s torso
fit for jogging in the park
a host of sports ( and even more so)
wild gymnastics in the dark.

Let fans admire those fabric ripples
running round each brawny chest
and virile peaks of manly nipples
underneath his fine-ribbed vest.

Upmarket glossies are promoting
looks I’ve fancied all along
would get female readers voting —
Vogue and Beckham can’t be wrong.

Firm tattooed boys ditch the tailor —
buy their kit from M & S
for both sexes love a sailor
posing in a surf-white vest.