|

Poems tagged ‘Bradford’

Results

Joe Williams

Friday, April 15th, 2022

5 April, 1902
Scotland one
England one
Match unfinished

9 March, 1946
Bolton Wanderers nil
Stoke City nil
Bolton win two nil on aggregate

2 January, 1971
Rangers one
Celtic one

11 May, 1985
Bradford City nil
Lincoln City nil
Match abandoned after forty-two minutes

29 May, 1985
Juventus one
Liverpool nil
Juventus win the European Cup

15 April, 1989
Liverpool nil
Nottingham Forest nil
Match abandoned after five minutes

Be the first to leave a comment »

Back For One Day

Crispin Thomas

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020

back for one day
to the ground on the hill
careful and wary
with Covid here still
temp’rature testing
out here on the street
we stand in a line
in our masks in the heat

we’re grateful to be here
this late Summer day
we keep to a distance
just like ev”ry day
it could be a one-off
the way things are going
and when we’ll be back
we have no way of knowing

the grass is so green
and the sky is so blue
there’s barely a cloud
but a breeze billows through
and for ninety odd minutes
of real live football
we don’t think about
what’s surrounding us all

the game is a flurry
of chances and goals
a blurry distraction
but safely controlled
we even discover
that crowds can still cheer
in spite of these masks
that we all have to wear

and here at the end
we all follow the rules
and are led out in rows
like we did back in school
the streets are all quiet
as we wind down the hill
now we’re back in the world
that’s surrounding us still

Be the first to leave a comment »

The Whole Stand Is On Fire.Bradford – Lest We Forget 11.05.85

Crispin Thomas

Saturday, May 11th, 2019

“the whole stand is on fire” he cried upon my radio
but how it started to this day we still may never know
and who here can imagine the fear the heat the pain
but pray that such a day as this will never dawn again

what should have been a joyous game promotion celebration
claimed lives of fifty six that day and shocked this sorry nation
and in that dark inferno blaze too horrible to dream
lessons learned will not replace the lives that should have been

as bravery and tragedy unfurled before our eyes
where fans risked life and limb and more to save so many lives
so hard to not let anger grow at things we can avoid
nor find a way to measure the depth of all destroyed

I used to be nostalgic for lovely wooden stands
those ancient crumbling terraces that stretched across these lands
the rusty turnstile mayhem and big crowd anarchy
that bumbled on for years and years the way it used to be

but from that day we realised in sadness and disgrace
while arguments will rage and rage they never can replace
nor bring back those who sat and cheered all as that game began
as scarves were waved and sunlight shone on trophy and on fan

no mighty modern structures no chrome nor steel designs
can ‘ere erase or truly face those tragic frightful times
we learned a million lessons we looked to shoulder blame
to everyone whose life was changed we hang our heads in shame

those truly awful moments they changed our football homes
but what a price for luxury if only we had known
if only this if only that for words will always fail
and can’t bring back the ones we lost and is to no avail

“the whole stand is on fire” he cried upon my radio
and how it started to this day we still may never know
but still we can’t forget those scenes the fear the heat the pain
and pray that such a day as this will never dawn again

Be the first to leave a comment »

Source: http://footballpoets.org/news/poem-tags/bradford/