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Before the Game

Terry Quinn

Monday, November 20th, 2006

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Leaning against the wall,
Waiting for my mates,
The rough red brick
Of the toolmaker’s yard
Stains my jacket
Like it did the last time
And the time before
And the time in the twenties
When previous shoulders
Turned to light Woodbines
In the lee of the crowd
The smoke soon lost
In the up line steam
That shadows the bodies
Crossing the bridge
Into the first noise
Of the main stand
Just behind me
Where two kids
Swap cards
Dodging a horse
As the copper
Leans down
Cheeking a woman
With three scarves
The boys of ‘64
Share chips
Buying a programme
From the same spot
As they did the last time
And the time before
The dust from my jacket
Brushed off
For another layer
To our history

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/before-the-game/