Footy Quatrains Part 2

Advice to a Young Footballer

“Don’t worry what the papers say,
don’t fear the words of men,
in Melbourne-town the footy boot
is mightier than the pen.”

 

 

Jesaulenko You Beauty!

If you blinked you would have missed it––
like the strike of a death adder––
he was soaring into outer space,
Jenkins was his stepladder.

 

 

Pre-match Address

The more he spoke, the more it seemed,
his lines were all rehearsed,
and English was his second language––
Yeti was his first.

 

 

The Vilified Player

If there’s a cure for racism,
he cannot ascertain it,
but if he cannot change the world,
he’ll have to entertain it.

 

 

The Indigenous Game

A game for all conditions,
be it quagmire, grass or sand,
from orchards of the Apple Isle
to cliffs of Arnhem Land.

 

 

Opening Bounce

A sound reverberating like
the Colosseum’s roar
when the hapless Christian chanced upon
the hungry lion’s jaw.

 

 

The Ageing Full-Forward

Is this the man that ruled the square
and made opponents tremble?
For now he is a laughing stock
a leper he resembles.

 

 

The Non-Drinker

His teammates were completely stunned,
they viewed with much suspicion
those pansies who did not partake
of anglicised traditions.

 

 

 The Country Footballer

“I play the game because I love it––
not for hollow cheers,
but those who play for man’s acclaim
are prisoners to their fears.”

 

 

The Hybrid Game

A delicious combination
of all the sporting codes,
where rugby, soccer, basketball
orgasmically explode

 

 

1915

And on the shores of Gallipoli
Aussie Rules was played
by brave and fearless soldier-boys
before they joined the fray.

 

 

A Game of Our Own

While conquered nations play the games
their captors make them play,
“Let us play our own game!”
the defiant Aussies say.

 

Note, some of these will be appearing in a forthcoming volume from Ginninderra Press