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Penalty Shootout in Zero Gravity

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 It was Barry’s idea, so
he only has himself to blame.
For all the thrill of orbital flight,
of seeing the Earth from space,
those journeys are so damn boring.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 I admit to sneaking the ball in,
and that Barry was winding me up.
The running commentary didn’t help,
calling me Gareth Southgate,
him being Andreas Köpke.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 No one could have predicted
the ball would hit the airlock button,
just when Barry was leaping up,
trying to stop my rocket blast,
straight to the top left corner.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Perhaps he’ll be a hero yet,
get a glove to an asteroid
hurtling towards the Earth.
The slightest of deflections,
nudging it over the bar.

Notes

This poem is taken from Joe’s book The Taking Part, a short collection of poems on the theme of sport and games, published by Maytree Press in 2021. https://joewilliams.co.uk/publication/the-taking-part/

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/penalty-shootout-in-zero-gravity/