LONDON, March 17, (AFP): Britain’s poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy has written a poem about injured England footballer David Beckham, she revealed Tuesday.
Duffy’s poem is entitled “Achilles” and compares Beckham to the classical hero from Greek mythology who gave his name to the Achilles tendon which he has ruptured, ruling him out of the World Cup in South Africa in June and July.
“He (Beckham) is almost a mythical figure himself, in popular culture,” she told BBC radio, while admitting: “I’m a lot more likely to watch football than he is to read poetry.”
Achilles, immortalised in Homer’s “Iliad”, was a great warrior whose mother dipped him in the River Styx in a bid to make him immortal.
However, she held him by his ankle which was not dipped in the river, leaving his heel vulnerable to wounding. Achilles was eventually killed by an arrow which hit that spot.
Duffy’s poem is littered with references to Beckham’s life — it calls him a “slippery golden boy”, tells of him being concealed “in girls’ sarongs” and refers to “days of sweetmeats, spices, silver songs.”
It closes with the lines: “And it was sport, not war, his charmed foot on the ball/But then his heel, his heel, his heel...”
Explaining her decision to write the poem, she said that the lives of celebrities like Beckham “are stories the rest of us follow.”
“It’s fascinating that the injury takes its name from Achilles,” she said. “The whole point of Greek myths is the combination of triumph and tragedy that we follow in them.”
The poet laureate is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the government. Duffy’s predecessors include John Dryden, William Wordsworth and Ted Hughes.
Beckham says an operation he had in Finland on his ruptured Achilles tendon was a “success”. He was injured during the final minutes of AC Milan’s 1-0 Serie A win against Chievo on Sunday.
David Beckham is coming to terms, in positive fashion, with losing out on the chance to extend his international career at the World Cup this summer.
And despite being ruled out for several months with an Achilles tendon injury, leading figures in Britain are rallying round the “major sporting icon” to make sure he feels an integral part of the campaign, and beyond.
For England 2018 bid chiefs Beckham’s physical recovery is important, but not as crucial as his continued status as one of their main ambassadors as they bid to win the right to stage the event in eight years’ time.
England 2018 chief executive Andy Anson said: “We have sent David a message wishing him well and hoping he recovers. We want him to recover to be playing again - that’s the only thing we are worried about.
“He’s David Beckham - he’s going to be a major ambassador for us right through to the end of this.
“We have our big moments in the campaign and obviously the final presentation (in December) is one thing where we would want our major ambassadors involved.
“That’s a good example of where we would see David’s involvement. He’s just a major, major sporting icon.”
After undergoing surgery in Finland on Monday which he called a “success”, Beckham departed for London Wednesday afternoon with his wife Victoria to begin what could be a long period of rehabilitation.
Although contracted to Los Angeles Galaxy Beckham is in his second loan spell at AC Milan — a move designed, somewhat ironically, to boost his chances of a World Cup place.
AC Milan believe Beckham, whose rehabilitation programme has been already mapped out, will make “a complete recovery” in six months.
A statement from AC Milan Wednesday said Beckham has been advised to be as careful as possible with his ankle for the first few weeks.
Already upbeat and getting used to walking with crutches, Beckham has been quick to thank everyone for the messages of support he has received after the injury suffered on Sunday evening.
“I want to thank from my heart all the Rossoneri,” Beckham said on the club’s official website, www.acmilan.com. “The club, the doctors, my team-mates and the fans.
As far as the World Cup goes, the jury is still out on whether Beckham’s absence will leave England lacking. In all three of his previous World Cup appearances Beckham failed to help deliver the Holy Grail of international football, which England last won in 1966.
In the meantime, his enforced absence may allow him to concentrate on helping wife Victoria conceive, and give birth to, a baby girl — if some reports are to be believed.
Britain’s Daily Star on Wednesday cited one “pal” of the couple claiming that Beckham is desperate to give the couple’s three sons Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, seven, and Cruz, five, a new sister.
The pal said: “This injury is a nightmare for David, but he is not the kind of man to buckle under the strain. He knows some good must come out of it.
“A baby girl would make their family complete. They are both so excited and have decided: ‘Let’s go for it!’”