No One Told Bruno
Once there was a man in plain tights
Who strode upon the stage of life
On grandma’s set of black and white
I sat in awe to watch him fight
For truth and justice and what was right
A paragon of virtue in a world of strife
He conquered evil with all his might
Lonely child on the emotional border
Because of him my world had order
When in the arena I sat in the first row
I cheered for my hero and cried out Bruno!

Defeating monstrous foes who didn’t play fair
Good triumphed over evil year after year
A giant of a man this true American hero
He had yet to learn all this meant zero
Like a silent film star who couldn’t transition
In a submarine world with political derision
His speech faltered as discouragement set in
He face was slapped and his hand spit in
By the new Barnum who said he couldn’t win
With an old school hero still stuck in the past
In a fast paced world seeking color and flash

Broken hearted he would slowly fade away
His memory is alive and yet to this day I feel
No one explained to him it was all unreal
Into an uncertain world we all did travel
Without my hero I soon did unravel
Now as an old man I pick up his load
I lift iron weights in my basement abode
Often there I see his face yet I never debate
His battle for Truth and Love over hate
As real for him and if you must know
In my heart I still cheer for Sammartino.
Christopher Cole
author of
"The Closer's Song"