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Then, Now

Andy Lockett

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 From the mills and the mines;
From foundries and factories;
From the docks and the dole;
They came.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Filling the steps and the stands.
A sea of cloth caps, swaying as
The match ebbed and flowed in
Front of them.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Their drug, their obsession, their
Way out of life’s problems, but
At least they could afford to pay
The admission.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 A release, a communal strength in
The colours of their team. No aggro,
No nastiness, just cigareetes and the
Banter of men.
———

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 From the call centres and the offices;
From the self-employed tradesmen;
From the company expense accounts;
They come.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 All money and no heart, demanding
Success – boorish and loud-mouthed.
Found football on TV, not born from
Within the soul.

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 Whither the game ? Where on from
Here…money to smother all else ?
To kill competition. to exclude fans
Who can’t pay the price ?

© Andy Lockett 2009

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/then-now/