Knowing I’d be with you,

I’ve been practising your language,

so when he scores the penalty,

instead of Fuck off, cheating shit,

I have something more poetic:

Que te folle un pez!

 

You equalise, but he scores again,

so I stand, shout at the screen,

Hijo de las mil putas!

in revenge for 2006.

 

When you take the lead,

I realise that I’m unprepared,

educated only in insults, curses,

have nothing for this, beyond

Arriba, arriba, si si si!

 

In the end, his hat trick

allows me to unleash

Me cago en tu madre!

and I no longer worry, for now,

about not knowing what to say,

or how to say it.

-

This poem is included in my latest book, The Taking Part, published by Maytree Press.

https://joewilliams.co.uk/publication/the-taking-part/