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Man Mountain

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Saw him play football twice:
Friday evening winning against City,
Saturday afternoon drawing at United
in the confines of Cambridge
when player-manager at Hereford.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Stood in the centre circle
directing traffic around him,
heading and passing
but not so much as running.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Encouraging,
cajoling,
coaxing,
pointing,
telling home truths
to those from the West.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Was son of Swansea,
a legend at Leeds,
incomparable in his vocation,
Il Gigante Buono always.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Played football as he lived life –
decent and upstanding
from the Valleys to Leeds
from Italy to back home
from Hereford to Merthyr
to the New Inn in Churwell.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 Remembered in Leeds,
celebrated in Cymru
long gone but not forgotten
by those who saw him in person.

Notes

William John Charles CBE (1931-2004)

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/man-mountain/