Football Poets

FA Cup merry go round

¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Ah, the FA Cup inquests
The Fourth Round
Repercussions
Simply exquisite
The giant killers
Kidderminster
Harriers
Were within a blow
Of the referee’s
Whistle
Agonisingly close
To the greatest
Hammer blow
Of all time
On the anvil of
Victory
But then Bowen
Jarred of the claret
And blue vintage
Supped from the
Vineyards
Of the Kidderminster
Cellars where
The maturity of
Yesterday’s wine
Of FA Cup day
Almost came to
Fruition
West Ham
Through to the
Fifth Round of
The FA Cup
But not before
A momentous
Shock to their
System
After the carpet
Men laid out
An expensive rug
Once threadbare
But now fit for
Non League
Warriors from
The lower strata
Who almost overcame
But not quite
The upper foothills
Since the harsh
Reality of the Premier
League stole their
Thunder.
Then City sailed
Into the next round
On their handsome
Galleon,
With statesmanship
Almost by royal
Prerogative
Manchester City
A voluptuous sight
Carved from
The finest marble
And clay
Unstoppable against
The Cottagers
Of Fulham who
Tommy Trinder
Once referred to
As you lucky
People
But yesterday
Fulham shipped
Four of the best
Never mind that
Cottage will become
An industry
In next season’s
Premier League
Editions
Marco Silva’s
Craven Cottage
Army will flourish
Again,
Then Frank Lampard’s
Everton,
Resurrected perhaps
From the dank depths
Of Rafa’s gloomiest
Thoughts,
Dismissing Brentford
Like a servant
From below stairs
A sharp reprimand
To those West Londoners
Where pubs
Of refuelling
Quality
Outside the old
Griffin Park
Corners,
Who once
Served their finest
Bitters but never
Embittered souls
Newcomers to
The top flight
Welcome to football’s
Glamour parade
Where Thomas Frank’s
Bees,
Robbed though
Of their
Honeypot.
Luton, hatted,
Booted suited
Dump Cambridge
From the Cup
Colleges and cloisters
Universities silenced
Again, the River Cam
Placid, still,
Wembley is sadly
Never on their
Radar
Chelsea
Stop Plymouth
Pilgrim’s progress
John Bunyan’s
Classic tale
But not for
Argyle this
Year, regrettably
So, one day
Perhaps
Plymouth almost
Crossed the Bridge
With a lead against
All the odds
But the Blues had
Far too many
Celebrated
Dignitaries
To disturb
The giants
Then finally
Spurs
Deprived of
Any silverware
Woe are they
Since the League
Cup of 2008
Yesterday though
Wearing their
Ostentatious
Clothes
Sweeping aside
Brighton back to
Their seaside
Proms, and
Victorian esplanades
South Coast sanctuary
Of defeat
To Tottenham
In their new
Spacecraft of
A stadium
An architectural
Wonder
Harry Kane
Of course
The perfect
Citizen
Scored a stunner
That restored
Smiles to
Fans of
Perfect contentment
And then
Again troubled
Defences as
We knew
He would
Seagulls
Now just
Innocent bystanders
But yesterday
Was FA Cup day
The carousel
Keeps whirling
And West Ham
Sigh with relief.

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