Football Poets

Back from Far East ports

¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Oh for the inscrutable charms of
The Far East
So here’s the latest
From tales of the Orient
But not certainly not of
The Brisbane Road variety
No sight nor sound of Barry Hearn
In Bangkok since my beloved wife
And I found sanctuary in those
Picture postcard pagodas
Where advertising hoardings
The size of the country itself
Dominate in vast acres
Of visibility that seemed to
Stretch for mile upon mile
Flashing fiercely across
Hot and noisy roads
Homages to I phones,
Electrical gadgets
And yes even Mcdonald’s
Subways and Burger King
Bangkok in perfect
Juxtaposition with Britain
Some things never change
We spotted Gunners shirts
In the Far East
Then Good Morning Vietnam
Where deafening gunfire
And dark, dank and filthy
Tunnels
Remind you of horrendous
Bloodshed during the 1960s
Battle scarred exchanges
Slashed across the nation’s flag
And young girls wept helplessly
Burning profusely in napalm
An appalling waste of life
Running for life desperately seeking
Life and sustenance
But then you remembered the red
Of Arsenal in Malaysia
And recalled
The enormous fanbases
Where Manchester United
Hold monopolies and markets
Merchandise and T-shirts the
Hundreds of thousands
Who eagerly listen for
The Beeb’s World Service
Or for instant gratification
The immediate result on their
I- Phone, a Tablet or two
In case it’s a devastating result
From Old Trafford
Oh for Oriental mysticism
The magical mystique
Where football turns its
Global village and
Sampans and kampongs
Into havens of health
And fitness
Joining forces with
The rest of the footballing
Community
Not forgetting Thailand
With little or no
Footballing ancestry
Or liquid legacies
But still an Emirates
Following in tiny corners
Of Phuket
Football heard
In every waterside
Jetty
Where the children
Kiss the crest of
The Red Devils
And the Gooners
Rule the roost
Never underestimate
The football banner
Its influence world wide

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