Poems tagged ‘Hillsborough’
Results
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
Flowers for Adrian
For Adrian Henri (1932-2000)
The worn flagstones of Mount Street
opposite the Liverpool Institute
— the head’s office, I remember
his cabinet full of silver trophies
as he turned me down as a new pupil;
23 years later, I sat on your settee
at 21 Mount Street, a cabinet with a dead
magpie in it, garlanded with paste jewelry
as I drank coffee with connie onnie
and listened to your rich Liverpool accent:
Adrian, pop artist, pop poet,
one of the triumvirate of Sixties
“Liverpool Poets” Henri, McGough, Patten;
you stayed while Roger and Brian decamped
to “The Smoke”–but you were the first to die,
debilitated after your stroke,
your big body wasted but still–
as in your poetry and your artwork,
“I Want To Paint–” as you painted
the football field of bouquets
after the Hillsborough tragedy of ’89:
“Flowers for Liverpool.”
Yes! every Spring, every day,
it’s flowers for Adrian.
Mersey misery for Blues
Liverpool 5-2 Everton
For the Hillsborough families
A show of solidarity
Three decades of resilience
Courage and much dignity
Six goals at half time
Big Divock hits a double
Keane and Richarlison up the Blues
Shaqiri and Mane spell trouble
Sadio squanders a pair
Gini makes Anfied drool
P45 for Marco Silva?
A club record for Liverpool
04 12 19
number7
© emdad rahman
97 souls, NYC
Never forgotten…
even 30 years to the day
all those 97 souls
snatched, no longer to watch or play
Never forgotten…
even from continents away
as I hark back in my mind
with sheer and utter dismay
Never forgotten…
even my bairns do inveigh
at the injustice of Hillsborough
as through New York we foray
30 Years Ago ~ 15.4.89-15.4.19
tears still fill our eyes
for those souls lost needlessly
on this very day ~
About This Site
Welcome to Football Poets -- a club for all football poets, lovers of football and lovers of (alternative) poetry. Discover poets in every league from respected internationals at the top of their game to young hopefuls in the school playground.
Publish your football poems here and then discuss them with your team mates and fans. We're archived by The British Library, so your masterpieces are in the safe hands of a world-class keeper. What a result!
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Latest Poems
joe morris
3rd September 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
3rd September 2024
joe morris
26th August 2024
Crispin Thomas
26th August 2024
joe morris
22nd August 2024
Mike Bartram
20th August 2024
Phil Brennan
20th August 2024
joe morris
17th August 2024
Rowan Waller
17th August 2024
Alex Saynor
12th August 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
26th July 2024 at 6:25 pm
Great poem Mike Bartram. Eddie was a legend, affectionately known in Liverpool as, “the first hooligan.” Even the hoolies were well dressed in those days. The amazing thing was he was only 26 when that picture was taken. He’d played for Everton youth team and was well known to the players. He never got arrested. They threw him out and he climbed back in, just in time for Derek Temples winner.
I used the picture of him being tackled to the ground on the front cover of my book, “Once Upon a rhyme in Football.” It’s worth looking on youtube and finding the re-enactment of the Wembley scene. Frank Skinner and Baddiel went around to Eddies home in the 1990’s and acted it out on the green outside. It’s hilarious, especially all the effort they put in to get Eddie sober enough to shoot the scene.
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10th July 2024 at 6:07 pm
Hi Crispin,
I don’t know if you’ve see the picture in social media today…
a picture of a teenage Lionel Messi cradling a baby in Africa as part of a photoshoot…. the family had won a lottery to have their baby pictured with him….
the photographer has just revealed that the baby is actually in fact Lamine Yamal!!!!
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26th May 2024 at 2:30 pm
Hi Denys…
Re Man City:
OK it was 20 years ago but Criag Wilson did write this and a few others on them back in 04/05.
BTW I’m more Forest Green Rover since 2014 (and Chelsea) these days . I drum and am a standing season ticket holder .
Best
Crispin
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29th April 2024 at 2:47 pm
Hi Denys,
Yes Richard Williams you’re a brilliant wordsmith, my friend. When I first saw your football poetry I thought it was the superb Guardian sports and music writer. I once had the honour of sitting next to Richard Williams while at the Independent on the sports desk. He writes about music and sport with immense knowledge and authority. I’ve read a couple of Richard’s books recently. Great writer rather like you Richard Williams the Pompey fan. Congratulations on promotion.
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28th April 2024 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Denys. Yes your replay poem was superb.
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26th April 2024 at 4:46 pm
Nice work, Joe. You were quick off the mark with that! Good one from Richard Williams too I see.
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25th April 2024 at 7:33 pm
Hi Denys,
Thanks mate. I’ll do it now.
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25th April 2024 at 1:56 pm
Thanks Joe,
you might like to write a poem yourself on the same subject…
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23rd April 2024 at 4:03 pm
Hi Denys
With you all the way on the abolition of FA Cup replays. What are they doing to the game?
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23rd April 2024 at 3:59 pm
Hi Crispin,
Yes sorry mate. Villa are still in Europe. Mistake rectified.
Cheers
Joe
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