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Fans and Fools – For Kick It Out

Albert Nyathi

Friday, October 14th, 2005

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 I see a sea of citizens milling,
Scattered, seated, standing, swaying
They are swerving, sweating, swinging
Singing and sighing
They are steaming and streaming
Football fans and fools alike
Fans cheer at the sight of the colour of the jersey
Fools jeer at the sight of the colour of the skin
Football fans and fools
They shout and share the joy of a win
They shout and share the sorrows of a defeat
Yes one team has to win.
Tell me then, how does the colour of the skin come in?
Racism is cancer eroding the human spirit
Racism is for imbeciles
Bent on destroying human relations
Bent on destroying the good that mankind has built

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 I shudder to imagine what would happen
If the world had one race
Look, if we had red roses only for flowers
No white roses, no lilies, nor daffodils
I do not want to imagine
How the jungle would look like
If we had lions only for animals
No leopards, no jackals, nor giraffes
I hesitate to imagine
What the roads would look like
If we had BMWs only for cars
No Ford, no Toyota nor Volvo
No Limousines nor tractor even?

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Please do not ask me to imagine
What it would be like
If all of us just agreed on everything
If all of us had one opinion
If all of us looked alike
Were of the same height
Same weight
Same colour of skin
Same nose shapes
Same colour of hair?

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Some have to have big noses
Others have to have small eyes
Some have to be tall like giraffes
Others big and baggy like baby elephants
Yet others short and stocky like rabbits.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 So we need blacks
We need whites
We need Asians
We need the Chinese
We need everybody
To beautify the world
Do not tell me
You do not envy
the beauty of the rainbow
So, come on, let us beautify the world
With our different colours
Stand up and be counted
Stand up

© AN 05

Notes

Albert Nyathi – 11/10/2005 FA .Soho Square

For Kick It Out
Written and performed at the FA HQ Soho Square.Kick It Out Week Launch as part of the Black History Month. Organised by
Kick It Out in collaboration with Chelsea FC,
Westminster Library and Archives, and the FA with thanks to KIO,
Crispin and Peter at Westminster Archives.This poem was written after literally going straight from the plane from Harare to Cardiff with Crispin to watch the Chelsea v Arsenal Charity Shield match in August !

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/fans-and-fools-for-kick-it-out/