|

The Cover-Up Begins

Mark Ballard

Thursday, September 9th, 2004

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 “I’m sorry for your loss,
But please a second of your time.”
“Time will never move again,
I’ve lost that child of mine.”

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 “Did your lad have tickets?”
“He had one, Leppings Lane.
I can’t believe I’ll never see
his sweet young face again.”

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 “Now one more question quickly:
Had he had a lot to drink?”
“He’s ten years old, at least he was,
So how much do you think?”

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 “Ah, I see, your lad was ten,
He’ll have had a fair few then.”
“A fair few drinks? He’s just a kid!”
“Did he have a drink? I’ll bet he did.”

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 “Why all these questions?”
“Well, I’ll explain.
We’re looking for someone
to shoulder the blame.”

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 “We have to keep a lid on
the events of this day.
The truth will be silenced,
You won’t have your say.”

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 “Of course we will, we’ll speak our minds.”
“That’s enough out of you, I don’t like your kind.
We’ll cover the truth with shrouds of our smoke.
Who’ll listen to you? You’re a national joke!”

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 “We’ve put up with stereotypes all of our lives,
Robbing scouse gits, if you believe all the lies.
But we’ll fight for justice, we’ll carry on with pride,
Years and years if it takes it, we won’t be denied.”

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 Fourteen years since the cover up began.
Lay the blame on the scousers – that was the plan.
Say they were rioting and out on the **** .
But we know the truth, and we WILL see justice.

Notes

Hillsborough: After relatives had identified loved ones, it was a matter of minutes before the police were grilling them on the drinking habits of those who died. The youngest lad who died was John-Paul Gilhooley. This poem is dedicated to him.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-cover-up-begins/