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They Played Football at Auschwitz on Sundays

Peter Goulding

Sunday, January 18th, 2004

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 They played football at Auschwitz on Sundays,
While the guards and Alsatians looked on.
As the cattle trucks came
With humanity’s shame,
And the sun in its majesty shone.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 With the shadow of death at their shoulder,
With the angel of hate at their side,
They practised their flicks
And did bicycle kicks,
And despaired when a shot whistled wide.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 They argued the toss over throw-ins,
They moaned when a colleague mis-passed.
They frantically hacked
When their goal was attacked,
As the hordes shuffled off to be gassed.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Incongruous though it appears,
‘Twas born of a deep-rooted need.
What mattered the most
Was to be so engrossed
That the darkness began to recede.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 They played football at Auschwitz on Sundays,
And joyfully panted each breath.
For a few sacred hours,
‘Neath the menacing towers,
They skipped o’er the stretched leg of death.

© Peter Goulding 18th January 2004

Notes

Inspired by “The People Who Walked On” by Tadeusz Borowski, an Auschwitz survivor.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/they-played-football-at-auschwitz-on-sundays/