THE BEAUTIFUL GAME! (POETRY)

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME!

We’ve seen the World Cup at its worst,

The tawdry ticket touts;

The xenophobic mania

From Zaire to Albania,

And liquored lager louts.

We’ve watched fouls blind side of the Ref,

And vicious shoulder bites;

The grabbing of the rival’s shirt

The acting injured on the dirt,

The spitting and the fights.

We’ve viewed the fans in every state,

Who came to see Brazil;

And sanitised Favelas where (1)

Once Rio’s gangsters had a lair

And Drug Lords used to kill.

We’ve noticed many yellow cards,

And slightly fewer red;

The sneaky kicking off the ball

The dodgy trip and phony fall,

And punches to the head.

The object always is to score,

In ninety-minutes clash;

But goals today are just the means

To Bentley cars and Gucci jeans,

And a huge stash of cash.

But FIFA’s boss claims that the game,

Is straighter than a die;                 

But if you fall for that old spiel                                                                                             

It’s certain your bumps need a feel,

As you’ll swear pigs can fly!

(1) Slum areas, some of which were cleaned

up to promote Brazil’s World Cup image .

© Richard Layton