Football Poets

Out of relegation zone but for how long?

¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 No longer in the drop zone
Relegation put on hold
In that awkward area
Of abeyance but for how
Long. Today but maybe not
After FA Cup battles at
Derby. West Ham clinging on
For dear life, near
Trapdoors yawning but
The Hammers survive
The final chapters of
This January neurosis
Yet another tremble of
Three points
Thank goodness the
Toffees of Everton
Came to the East End
Without a sweet tooth
Hammers negotiating
Nervous, jittery obstacles
Rather like the daunting
Hurdles of yesterday
And the present day
From now on
The most painful struggle
Now on 18 points
But the sharks are still
Circling claret and blue
Waters, poised to bite
With lethal intent
Next on the roster
Newcastle at St James
A terrifying prospect
Since Newcastle are just
Sweeping aside all comers
Renewed, revitalised,
Almost transformed over night
By Saudi petro dollars
Swimming in vivid affluence
Wealth in their every movement
Eddie Howe’s black and white
Stripes, unstoppable
But still within echoing distance
Of City and Arsenal
You can hear the dulcet Geordie tones
The Fog on the Tyne has lifted
Gently, discreetly and decisively
Newcastle have influence on their side
History slowly drifting away
For this is the present day Newcastle
A force of nature, wild, free
Uninhibited as the river that flows
Through the Tyne, goals in thick
Abundance
But on Saturday West Ham
Finally break the spell
Discovering a scientific
Breakthrough, a win,
A victory. It happened
When least expected
While we were patiently waiting
For that last bus
Instinctively, gratefully
To Newham or Dagenham
Claret and blue
Hammers finds Bowen
In double moods of goals
West Ham breathing again
No longer dependent on
Southampton, Wolves,
And Everton for the wind
To blow in the right direction
But danger still stalks
West Ham like a man
In a dark raincoat, collar
Up, Lurking in the alleyways
Sinister sniffs and coughs
Shoes tapping on sodden
Paving stones,
Following claret and blue
Shadows, ready to pounce
On a land of vulnerabilities
West Ham still looking over
Their shoulders, wary
Almost terrified at times
Since the spectre of relegation
Could still grab hold of them
Again
Oh to be a supporter of this
Rickety old organisation
Never sure of their bearings
From one season to the next
Neither top nor bottom
Two European driven seasons
And now lost, almost completely
Lacking in the fundamentals
West Ham threatened by another
Monstrous catastrophe
Relegation again?
And yet it was always
Thus, but not this time
Rise from the ashes
Yes Phoenix you can
Do it West Ham
32 more points for
Premier League safety
Feasibility study
Completed
It can be done
And will materialise
Surely, definitely

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