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Poems tagged ‘Reading’

Right Outsider

Geoffrey Winch

Monday, November 9th, 2020

the position I cherished
but never had the chance to play
for the team at Junior School –

my friend, David D, best five-stones
player and fag-packet flicker of
the playground, and always our superb
right winger who I loved to watch –
so much faster, trickier, neater –
admiringly

and Senior School the same – again
a friend, Michael L who, with so much
skill, still I never got to play for the school

but made it at least to my house team
and felt like a champion for a game
or two or three each year

and played right wing for my Boys’ Brigade
company ¬ so many seasons of crazy games:
winning one week thirty goals to three
losing the next sixteen to one

then at last for me the big time! being selected
for the Battalion to play right wing against
Southampton and Slough when my surprisingly
accurate centering ensured our two-one victory

but it was Jimmy Wheeler most of all I admired –
top goal scorer and right winger all those years
I followed the Biscuitmen before they became
The Royals

his speed, dribbling, centering hardly ever
failing to find Tommy Dixon’s head
or the foot of Jimmy Whitehouse –

that is after Stanley Matthews . . .

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