Holding On
¶ 1
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Nails bitten to the cuticle,
Heart pounding,
Hands pressed tightly together
As if in silent prayer.
¶ 2
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Hunched forward,
Like old men twice our age.
On tenterhooks,
As the blue tide pours remorselessly forward.
¶ 3
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A corner from the right,
Twenty one players in the home team’s goalmouth.
Ball cleared,
Only to returned again with interest.
¶ 4
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Another corner,
Valuable seconds crawl by
As the ball is placed in the quadrant.
The whistle blows.
¶ 5
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In slow motion
The ball arcs towards the penalty spot
To be met by the grizzled forehead
Of the opposition’s dangerman.
¶ 6
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Like a rocket the ball heads for the top corner;
A goal, surely?
No!
From out of nowhere the keeper dives to tip it over.
¶ 7
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Third corner in a minute.
Relief as this one is hacked away,
Punted aimlessly upfield
To where the centre forward ought to be.
¶ 8
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Yet he’s nowhere to be seen.
Sacrificed, in fact, for experienced defender
To preserve the home team’s
Slender advantage.
¶ 9
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Fourth official holds up the dreaded board:
Four minutes!
Received with nervous laughter,
Bordering on the hysterical.
¶ 10
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Forehead furrowed and clammy,
Palms glistening with sweat,
An urge to urinate,
But can’t possibly go yet.
¶ 11
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Back to the action:
Ball sliced for a throw in.
The big men amble forward,
Prepared to flick on the exocet.
¶ 12
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Ball headed clear.
Back in,
Blasted out, booted upfield
To raucous, ragged cheers of relief.
¶ 13
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Three minutes remain.
No enjoyment now,
Just pure suffering.
Agony!
¶ 14
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Free kick to the blue hordes,
Six men in the wall,
Hands guarding their prized assets,
Four others on the goal line.
¶ 15
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Blocked bravely,
Rebound fired goalwards,
Against the upright.
Whacked away.
¶ 16
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Two minutes left.
Yet another corner.
In a do or die attempt
The opposition keeper prowls the penalty area.
¶ 17
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Corner swung in,
Headed straight up in the air.
A duel between the two keepers,
Ball fisted clear.
¶ 18
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One minute!
The agony is unbearable.
Knuckles gnawed,
Dry, rasping throat.
¶ 19
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Pleading with the ref,
Imploring him to blow his whistle.
He checks his watch once………twice,
Has it stopped?
¶ 20
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Puffing his cheeks out, the whistle blows.
Enormous relief.
Punching the air in jubilation.
More agony next week?
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