Watching a professional football player
gently control a bullet of a 40-yard pass
with the inside of their weaker foot
while barely looking
reminds my bones what they’re capable of.
My heart backflips
when a goalkeeper lets a simple cross
slip through their hands
because they’re too busy
thinking about the future.
Bovril is the only meat-based liquid
I’ve ever had
with 60,000 people shouting Wanker.
I wonder if referees have friends
who are kind enough to ask How are you?
and mean it.

© Carl Burkitt 2020