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Alone With The Past

Number Ten

Sunday, November 30th, 2003

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Each page in that hefty book
Showed me another great moment
In the history of the game
Moments of joy and beauty
That ignited passion in a nation
These diagrams attempted
To crystallise the scene
For eyes like mine
To cast over with wonder
Their legend perpetuated
As the mind is the video
Racing the action over and over
To understand these seconds
Of brilliance on the page
Each yellow flash
Representing the movement
With simple black dots charting
The runs of the forgotten men
Who lend the ball happily
To another figure to finish the piece
No matter the simplicity
That each diagram showed
Questions were asked
Over the basics of the shot
How did Arie Haan bend the ball
And hit it to the only place
Zoff could never get too?
How did Hans Krankl control the ball
And hit it with such vengeance
That it snapped through the air?
How did Eusebio smash the ball
And hit it with such sweetness
Turning the keeper into a statue?
How did Josimar lob the ball
And hit it with a calculated skill
To prove the flair of Brazil?
How did Gerry Armstrong strike the ball
And hit it with an impact
Leaving the Spanish like fools
With colour they force
An imagination into action
Fresh imitations
Bringing life to the page.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/alone-with-the-past/