EDITED HIGHLIGHTS

Who needs all ninety minutes? You can watch
Edited highlights - they’re more than enough:
The only things  that matter in a match,
All of it end to end, exciting stuff.
Do-or-die tackles, every pass spot on,
Each shot a screamer fit to burst the net,
The Beautiful Game with all the dull bits gone
Is what we want. The rest you can forget.

Off-screen, it’s different. Real life’s not about
Winning the league, the lifting of a cup.
The moves break down, the build-ups fizzle out.
Hanging around when people don’t turn up,
Waiting to get the ball back from the crowd:
That’s the real game. The bulk of it is dud.
The goals are flukes or cruelly disallowed.
Most of my life, I’ve slogged through midfield mud.

© D. Whippman

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