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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

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

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