Smyth

It started in the school football team.
Tommy only ever got chosen because his next door neighbour
picked the team.
On the teamsheet the right winger
was always Smith
without a y.
Tommy used to deliver his own post
next door
so his coach would realise
the mis-spelling.

At school when learning to write his name
Smyths's teacher told him he had spelt his name wrong.
As the whole of the class laughed at his red face
he made a point of always making the y
as animated as a Disney cartoon
hoping it would stay in people's minds.

Even at college
when he studied Anglo Saxon poetry
nobody could get it right.
The first time he got his work published
the editor almost granted his life long dream
by seeing most of his name in print.

His mother didn't give up her maiden name
-she was a real Smith
not a pretender.
Tommy's dad's early breakdown
suggested her decision had been right.

Smyth's dad died aged 48
the girl at the airport desk
said he went red in the face
clearly having been asked the same question
one to many times.
The whole family stood by the tombstone engraver
the question on their lips
being y?