SCHOOL DAYS
Jeffrey Porter
Norman James,
“Every member of my team
is the captain, we must win.”
They played many teams, yet
every year they lose every match,
They were trained to laugh
at their defeat.
El futbol but it was more
like a net ball match.
Twenty-five to zero,
twenty to zero and they still played on
The spectators and their
friends still came to see them
The women and girls still
screamed and cheered them on.
They were heroes; they
were trained not to fear defeat.
At the end of every game,
he was ‘man of the match’.
He walked off the field
laughing, “we don’t play games,”
He would tell the winners
congratulating them,
“Every member of my team
is the captain, a Major Victory.”
For years; the coach, Players,
and spectators were disappointed.
They were taught to be
emotionally tough.
They won no trophies or
commercial contracts, but –
After every match, around
the field they would do a lap.
With supporters crying and
cheering, they would clap.
They were trained not to
fear defeat, they were all stars
They were trained for the
greatest game of all.
Graduation:
They did not attend their
graduation,
It would be too sad, too
solemn, the worst occasion.
So, weeks before, their
supporters came,
From every direction, the
men shook their hands
The women and girls cried
and hugged them
Will we ever see them? Few
people knew when they left,
They walked away one by
one, sometimes in twos
They walked away without
looking back
They gained all the ‘O’
levels they sat.
They lost every game they
played –
But they won the greatest
game of all.
copyright Jeffrey Porter
