"Frankie Boy"

It seems like centuries ago
Way before my time
When Frankie Fraser ruled the roost
The hardman of gangland crime.
But was he really evil
Crazy with the pliers?
Call me old fashioned if you like
I reckon the Old Bill were fucking liars!
I'm not say he wasn't a nasty bastard
If you'll excuse my French
But he didn't deserve the treatment he got
From the vindictive beaks on the bench.
He might have hurt some people
But you got what you deserve
If you were to rob off your own
It was a short sharp learning curve.
Truth is he was always brighter
Than those East End upstarts The Krays
And he was a caring bloke, the family man
Right up to his sying days.
He ruled the roost dahn the Walworth Road
Proudly marching up and down
Perched invisible on his head
That gangster royalty crown.
So what if he was a villian
Who could have nasty streak
I reckon he had more integrity than the coppers
Who put him up before the beak.
If there's such a place as heaven
I hope you Rest In Peace
You'll soon be back in business
With plenty of gullible christians to fleece.

Dulwich Poet 8th November 2014

(Lifelong 'career criminal' 'Mad' Frankie Fraser died last week, aged ninety. He was a working class legend, from my area of South London. I wrote this after I'd posted a general RIP message on my Facebook page, and a few mates responded with the 'good riddance to him' type of thing.)