Arte Mayor: Neither Cricket Nor Football

ARTE MAYOR*: Neither Cricket nor Football

Is this the way to prop A-first
Sock not oval ball overhead
Slam not round ball with drumstick dead
Cut not corporate tax: the worst
Hundred millions sweat till tv burst
Swamp Super Bowl cheer-leaders' tights
The day England scorned Wales' rights*
Would arméd football rugby durst

Catch not ball in leather-gloved hand
Watch how slip-fields pluck balls from air
Out-fields brave boundaries debonair
That's what  cricket's in any land
Trumped-up charges make no A-men grand 
Nor soft base balls stop eyes grow sore
A-1 Nation must make World soar
Hail Rugby! King Twickenham brand!

Throw missile back You Quarter-Back
Take no step beyond the Red line
Referee draws to keep the front-line
Push no further than ball in pack
The Golden Rule's not to kick back
Unless you're in scrum cheek to jowl
And lick the foe if he must growl
Block those horns in grid-lock Am-track!

Curve ball's By Gad no in-swinger
Reach first base sans one lone strike
Home runs no match sixes through dike
Stop runs coming through huge bouncer
Best way to take the World over
Scrap apéd games from lean memory
Learn to play ball gentlemanly
You'll need no Vinson carrier!

*Arte Mayor (Sp. Major Art) stanzaic form, the art of Archiprest de Hita (12th-13th c.): eight syllabic lines in eight-line stanzas, rhyming abba acca.
*England beat Wales in epic match at Cardiff to win Six-Nations' Rugby 2017 Trophy; the same day the Super Bowl was watched by 125 millions on TV. If the same audience could have seen the match at Cardiff, I'd wager that would have been the very last Super Bowl event in history.

© T. Wignesan - Paris, 2017
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

Poem

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Vinson Avatar
April 27, 2017 at 3:38 PM
"You'll need no Vinson carrier!" Hey! ; ) Interesting write, T. : ) I like watching Rugby, but that Super Bowl was a very memorable game, too, almost unbelievable.
Vinson Avatar
April 29, 2017 at 11:09 AM
On the tanks, we have gotten as far as "Robot Wars" on TV. For many of us, I think we favor sports that we've grown up with.
Wignesan Avatar
April 28, 2017 at 9:51 AM
Hi, Carrier Vinson! We all love our children, even if they are handicapped; especially if they are handicapped! Instead of men, why don't they simply put tanks in their place and fire live cannon shots. Many thanks for dropping by. Wignesan
Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace