Bobby Stokes
¶ 1
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A man’s life defined in one ten second frame,
ball lightly traversing the canvass of sunlit grass
his moment unfolding with joyful certainty,
irrevocably recasting the parabola of his destiny
¶ 2
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Can there be any preparation for this elevation,
for the intensity of the localised recognition.
To bear the exquisite burden of tribal gratitude,
fame without reward, recognition without recompense
¶ 3
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Previous contributions now meaningless, forgotten;
expectation that miracles could be conjured weekly,
trapped by a benchmark, innocently self-imposed.
The need to relocate, refresh, a restlessness in play
¶ 4
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The unexpected player, singled out by fate,
free-beered and backslapped, pointed to, stared at.
Each solitary cup goal scorer is listed on the record
of footballing immortality; in parenthesis, in perpetuity
Notes: Bobby Stokes (30 January 1951 – 30 May 1995) was an English footballer, well known for scoring the winning goal in the 83rd minute of the FA Cup Final for Southampton F.C. against Manchester United in 1976. He died aged 44, on 30 May 1995 after contracting bronchial pneumonia, on the same day as Ted Drake, another footballer who started his professional career at Southampton. He was honoured by having one of the luxury hospitality suites at the St Mary’s Stadium named after him, and Stokes Court, one of the buildings on the site of Southampton’s former ground, The Dell. (Editors/Football Poets # courtesy of Wikipedia)