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Play-off

Bryan Murphy

Friday, April 8th, 2011

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 April is here, and you’re in England, home.
Warm air breathes hope into your stroll
through Longmead’s leafy car park.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Beer-deepened voices amplify the hope,
inject a note of cocky confidence,
rise together to drown the worm of doubt.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 You stand as one, fill your lungs
with the reward for nine months’ sweat,
your ears with off-key chants.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Floodlights dissolve dusk into dark,
pick out the protagonists, burn the scene
into your distant future memory.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 Hearts fall and rise in unison,
tension dissipates and coagulates again,
your veins throb to a whistle’s shriek.

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 Shuffle in silence from ball park through car park:
your chilled blood cools the night air.
Polish this broken dream for your trophy case.

Notes

It’s that time of the year coming up. A one-in-four chance if you get that far. Hope springs eternal.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/play-off/