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To George, with love

Clik The Mouse

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 I cried for you last night

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 At this anniversary time, your loss is heightened
And I wept again
As your father choked back the tears, when prefacing the closing credits:
“I’d love to see him come running in through that door”.
Amen to that.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 There was no dignity in your decline
And for many
You were a sober reminder
Of which way not to turn

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 But it was your turns out on the pitch
That mesmerised
And that we all tried to memorise
For it didn’t matter which team we supported –
We all wanted to be Pelé or Bestie
No-one else
Not really …
Local heroes of course …
But when it came to the big moment
The time to really impress
There’d be 10 Georgie Bests
And another wannabe, stuck complainingly in a keepers jersey
There’d be choppers dumped behind the goal
Guarded by a pile of discarded Parkas
And out on the pitch, in a game of copycat, replicated everywhere –
Studded Stylo boots, twisting and turning
Those were the days –
And you were the epitomé

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 It’s obvious how proud your family are
Likewise your native city
With the George Best Belfast City Airport –
But not one aircraft, could take off as quick as you
And not even Concorde
Could drown out the ovations
On any matchday, nor the day of your funeral
As you took that last runway to the sky.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 Last night I bet we all cried at the memory of you.

© Clik the mouse, 28th November 2006

Notes

On watching a documentary of the same name last night on Channel 4.
George Best died on November 25th 2005.

I was very impressed with the dignity of George’s family.
They have set up The George Best Foundation : to provide charitable funds for research into liver disease and alcoholism as well as supporting the promotion of a healthy lifestyle among young people through participation in soccer.

Some notable witticisms credited to George :

“If I had been born ugly, you never would have heard of Pelé”.

“I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”.

“In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol and it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.”

“I used to go missing a lot…Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World…”

“Pelé called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life.”

“Remember me for the football.”

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/to-george-with-love/