Football Poets

England demolition job

¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 What a relief
England fly off
The starting blocks
In Saudi heat and
Humidity,
6-2 against Iran
A stunning statement
Of intent,
Documentary proof
Of superior breeding
The noblesse oblige
Tip toeing daintily
Through crimson red
Fields of non existent
Powder puff Iran
Saka firing off Gunners
Double barrels of fire and purpose
The boldest pronouncement of youth
Politics breathing darkly beneath
The surface of conflicted thoughts
Bitterness raging around private
Talk of gay rights, humanity
Questioned for its rampant
Inhumanity, alcohol taboo
Unwelcome, take your custom
Elsewhere
But today England redressing
The balance of probabilities
Professional demolition job
Saka of Arsenal, double whammy,
Sterling worth a fortune
Appreciating with every minute
Of the 90. Unstoppable, that
Ubiquitous pain in the neck
Stroking the ball into the net
For flabby, wobbly, weak Iran
Soft underbelly, compliant, accepting their
Place in the football hierarchy
Invisible, weak and lack lustre
Lacking everything,
Simply lying down submissively
And waiting for their comeuppance
Thrashed and pulverised
Within the longest first half
Of any match
Three down before Marcus Rashford
Dances again around and around
Before slotting nonchalant goal
What could be so simple?
Then Saka again before
Jack in the box Grealish
Taps in an almost guilty pleasure
For this had been the recurring theme
Of the whole match
We watched through ambivalent eyes
Never entirely sure whether we should
But we did. Torn between fanatical
Patriotic English support
And then watching with domestic
Lenses, swallowing our pride
Forget the wild tempests of
Global narratives in football’s
Lounges of triumphalism
England hit six
It feels good
For Monday now
Read Friday
And another dream
Of American apple pie
Surely Gareth
Victory again
But let’s take
One game at a time
We’ve been this way before
So familiar but true

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