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In Memory of Greatness

Gongora’s Shinpads

Monday, April 5th, 2004

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 You’ve asked me what the striker
is weaving there with
his golden feet?

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 I reply, the grass knows this.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 You say, what is the linesman
waiting for with his chequered
flag? What is he waiting for?

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 I tell you he is waiting
for time, like you.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 You ask me whom
the happy striker
hugs in his arms?

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 It is you and I
and an ocean of smiles.

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 Study, study it,
at a certain hour,
in a certain stadium I know.

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 You question me
about the wicked whims
of the referee,
and I reply by describing
an elephant in braille.

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 You enquire about the trophies,
which tremble beyond the grasp
of hands.

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 And I reply-
I am nothing but the empty net,
the stillness of the dead ball,
the arc of a free-kick,
its curvature, its longitudes.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/in-memory-of-greatness-2/