Alf Ramsey – My Part In His Triumph

Gold cherry

By penguin

Mon, 12 Oct 2020
  • 1283 reads
7 comments
 

Around the time Cup Finals

were first shown live on TV

and towers were erected   

overlooking our back garden  

with the lawn striped and manicured

just like Wembley Stadium,  

Alf Ramsey would be watching

from the 6th or 7th storey

as I tried to keep the ball within

the central midfield area

away from the flower beds

my father set such store by.

 

Any failure to control

saw a crowd of heads go drooping

or the prize snatched away

by dogs and smaller siblings

who wouldn’t leave the pitch despite

prolonged appeals to reason.

They were no better than Argentinians

at the end of the day.

 

To evade father’s discipline

and maintain home advantage

I kept close possession

far enough from the edges

managing without wingers

only looking up when Mom blew

for dinner at Alf Ramsey

unsmiling and furiously

scribbling down his thoughts.

 

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by airyfairy on

This wonderful poem of childhood dreams is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day!  Please do share/retweet if you enjoy it too.

Penguin - picture has been added for FB and Twitter publicity purposes - please feel free to delete on here if you prefer.

Photo from draconiansleet on Flickr, free to copy with attribution:  https://tinyurl.com/y4uggx24

Submitted by penguin on

Thankyou. You're perhaps the only other person here who's heard of Alf Ramsey!

Submitted by penguin on

Thankyou. You're perhaps the only other person here who's heard of Alf Ramsey!

Submitted by Mark Say on

.... we have to thank for 1966.

 

Submitted by celticman on

my da was also a fitba fan, he told me to go play- somewhere else. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

I had to read this out aloud to myself, it has such a lovely rhythm, not da di da, just graceful. I suppose like dribbling the ball one end of the pitch to the other and no one else touching it :0) Looks so easy but is really hard. I have no idea about football, had to look up Alf Ramsay, but really enjoyed this, particularly the middle stanza. You  weave perfectly between daydream and reality all through. I really, really like the rhythm

 

Submitted by penguin on

Thanks for all the comments.