Football Poets

Premier League again

¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 It’s the Premier League again
After a fortnight in cold storage
Weary and frayed around the edges
But still in the rudest health
Doctors give it the all clear
Put the stethoscope away
All is tickety-boo
Right as rain
Go for it football
At lunchtime
Those noisy North London neighbours
Arsenal and Spurs
Renew acquaintance
For the umpteenth time
Same record, same classic
Piece of vinyl, that timeless
Track from the iconic album
Hypnotic beat, London calling
Across the land, clear the decks
For red meat and passionate
Intensity, no love lost here
Arsenal in the land of invincibility
Mesmerising in the extreme
One touch, two touch, passes
Strung together in colourful beads
Occasionally reminding you of City
At their most unbeatable
A force of nature
Perfection on a plate
For luncheon repast
A most satisfying antidote
To the UEFA Nations League
We’ll have seconds, please
Then the Cherries of Bournemouth
Find the honeyed Bees of Brentford
Sheer nectar and ambrosia
Palace await Chelsea
Second London derby
An abundance of capital
Where capitalism finds
Its spiritual home
Chelsea loaded with well endowed
Riches and Palace perhaps
Mourning the loss of Her Majesty
Who pinned her colours to Arsenal
Anyway
Down at the Cottage
The industry of Fulham
Hatch and plan victory
But the thatched roofs
May belong to country retreats
Fulham meet Newcastle
Newcastle, white and black and white
Stripes. In the mind’s eye
Football’s zebras on the plain
Guarding their territory
Wandering, then gazing
Critically, calm, but
Ready for confrontation
At the Cottage
Then Liverpool, Klopp’s
Heavy metal monsters
Excavating memories of Shanks
Rippling through the mirrors
Of the past, a shimmering artwork
Then Bob Paisley sighing admiringly
From the heavenly terraces where
The Kop sung their weekly hymns
In affectionate homage to their
Beloved greats, parishioners in red
Robes all in one note, accord
Never walking alone, a concert of
Well-oiled throats
Brighton are the visitors to that
Topical venue of
Labour party busybodies
Trading promises and platitudes
We’ve heard it all before
Politics and football
Just incompatible, they simply
Don’t work, but then sodium
Met potassium,
It could be an explosive thriller
Brighton flying at the moment
At altitudes of the highest
Footballing plateau
Liverpool against Brighton
Sea gulls in bracing winds
Undeterred by Liverpool’s
Trophy- laden cabinets
Bulging at the seams
A meeting of great minds
Finally, the Saints of Southampton
Worshipping in St Mary’s pews
Neither here nor there
Hanging on by the fingertips
West Ham against Wolves
Personal recollections
Of the 1970s when jeans
Were flares and shoes
On platforms at East Ham
Station,
Waiting patiently for
Five of the best for claret
And blue tendencies
Paddon, Jennings, Robson
Brooking and all
Oh, the Premier League
How we’ve missed you so

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