|

Remember those days.

joe morris

Friday, July 1st, 2022

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 You must remember those days of yore
When we were the burgeoning age of four
On the streets and roads
Where we unlocked the codes
Of youth and childhood
Or maybe we could
In rags and clothes with holes
Certainly not bowls
Over and over again
The pavement and fen
Rush goalie, three and in
Next to the welcoming bin
With tin cans and rolled up paper
The interminable caper
We rushed about furiously
Albeit curiously
Scampered and scurried
Permanently hurried
Man on, I’m unmarked
Oh how we larked
Give me the ball Joe
Please don’t go slow
Only the goalkeeper to beat
Score Joe, stay on your feet
Cross the ball my friend
On my head, the free kick bend
Mum’s calling us in for tea
But don’t forget me
Hit it, on the volley and half volley
Avoid that neglected trolley
The supermarket kind
Never a bind
But we loved the game
Not a hint of shame
Joe, beat the offside trap
No crowd applause or clap
Just the innocence of youth
We were never uncouth
Coats for goalposts
We were the perfect hosts
Our school friends
We trusted in possession
When matches were in session
With scuffed shoes, tangled laces
Ruddy complexioned faces
Pudding basin haircuts
No ifs or buts
3-0 down at half time
Shock, horror, that’s a crime
And the factory horns blared
Mum simply glared
Your defenders went missing
Come in now, the sun is glistening
Then fading light
Nothing to blight
That winger in full flight
Oh Joe you should have scored
We’ve never abhorred
Your style, lightning turn of pace
But this is no foot race
Pass, Joe, give me that ball
You couldn’t possibly stumble and fall
When fame and celebrity made its call
Against the Victorian wall
Over here Joe, street poet
Lovely ball control, show it
Beat the scruffy keeper from there
On pavements, even stones, and
And old dog bones,
With filthy school shirts
And girls with flirty skirts
We dropped our shoulders
Leapt over boulders
Beat the press
Nothing less
Five a sides
Above the fluctuating tides
Of late summer days
Tireless and evening greys
But come on everybody
We’ll play until dawn
On any lawn or patch of land
Once a bomb site, never bland
So childhood street football
We fondly did recall
Our devoted Sixties mate
Never a moment, you’ll be late
No time to waste
More haste
Come on Joe, double hat-trick
Please, you know you’re slick

Notes

A homage to our childhood days of football

Tags:

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/remember-those-days/