The soccer ball rolls through school days
By Phan Tan Hai
The ball rolls across the schoolyard grass,
mesmerizing the boy who chases it—
kicking until the afternoon snags on the hanging moon,
kicking until the morning sun climbs up to watch;
even Pelé comes to gaze from the veranda,
shouting in a jubilant, midnight dream.
The ball bounds wildly in every direction;
clutching it, he roams the streets to challenge others—
any open space becomes a pitch,
kicking until summer sun and spring rain fade away;
even Messi would be astounded
to see a childhood kick soar high in the dead of night.
The ball travels through school days,
rolling past hills, mountains, rivers, lakes, and distant seas;
with a single strike, a rain of blossoms falls—
an offering to the boundless realm of form and void.
Waking at midnight to gaze across the ten directions,
he sees a thousand clouds drifting past the sun’s rosy glow.
Spain won the world cup yesterday, one to nil - but it was never close. Spain spent 70% of the game in Argentina’s backfield - pressuring.
Spain had nine respectable shots at a goal - scored one with another called back. Argentina had one shot that almost went in. I know losing when I see it - Argentina winning would have been a fluke.
Speaking of losing - Madonna at halftime.
A critic wrote that, "Madonna has come to represent America’s fear of aging."
Yeah, aging has never looked less appealing.
I may take up smoking.
I know, she recently had a single hit #1 on the Billboard charts.
Back when the Beatles were cranking out 24 #ones in a row, you had to sell a million records a week to crack the top ten, and 1.3 to 1.5 million a week to stand a chance at a #1. Today (with streaming) you can get a #1 with a 7th of that number.
I love early Madonna - but I know creepy when I see it.
Who’s older, Madonna or Trump?
Whatever, both are too old for their jobs.
.
.
A song for this:
Vogue by Madonna
Cruel and Pretty by Over the Rhine
The grass is the same in Buenos Aires and London
Argentina presses as Messi runs
National feelings, reduced to action
millions of fans with opposite reactions
England breathless as Kane goes to score
Argentina or England? Who will win one more?
One team will lose, and the other reach for glory
We're nearing the end of the World Cup story
.
Tomorrow 07/15/2026 3PM US, 9pm Paris
.
.
A song for this:
We Are the Champions (Live Aid) by Queen
On Youtube: youtu.be/FP808MiJUcM
Soccer is my favorite sport.
I play it all the time,
dribbling the ball
in a squiggly line.
I square up for one last kick.
The net is in my sight.
I kick—the ball goes soaring.
I know I've got it right!
The crowd goes wild.
They cheer out loud.
I am the MVP—
but for the other team!
48 teams started the journey
All hoping to go far in the tourney
But one by one they were sent home
Soon 2 will be left to battle for the throne
France has booked their ticket once again
Only to face the formidable Spain
Its a semifinal sure to thrill
As both teams show their skill
England and Norway will vie for a semi-final spot today
Will the 'Vikings 'the '3 Lions' slay?
Argentina and Switzerland will also battle for a spot
Argentina is sure to come out on top
demise of the pharaohs — somewhat Messi
WAS CINDERELLA
RUINED BY THE BIG FELLA
ENDS UP JUST SMELLA
Americans won't be competing for the World Cup anymore.
The boys from Belgium sent them right out the door.
The red, white, and blue, were done in by the red, yellow, and black.
The Belgians sported a very potent offensive attack.
Yes, the final score was Belgium 4, USA 1.
The home grown guys were certainly undone.
Some American soccer fans may be shedding tears.
Their team has to wait for another four years.
The Federation of International Football Associations, or FIFA,
will never ever be accused of being "Antifa",
but their recent actions should be anathema,
because it now stands for "Federation Indiscreetly Favoring America"!
Morocco inflicts heartbreak on Netherlands
Oranje sent home packing after knockout
Round of 32 drama didn’t disappoint
Overcome by emotion — both sides
Cody Gakpo scores opening goal pointing to heaven
Chaotic 3-2 penalty shootout leaves Saibari shirtless
Onto the round of 16 showdown with Canada
CANADA SIX NIL
CANADIANS IN A THRILL
GO FURTHER WE WILL
Strangers shout as one
A whole world stitched by one ball
Heartbeat of the streets
Stadium light glows
One player feels the whole world
Balanced on their foot
Crowds freeze in one breath
Carrying a nation’s hopes
One kick rewrites fate
We all love and applaud the winners
As we feel sorry for the losers
We love women, without them, we're nobody
Women are the fruits and the gems of our society
Whoopee! Congratulations to the USA Women's Soccer Team
For winning their fourth World Cup. This is a dream
For everybody to be champions
This is an outstanding accomplishment
Let's all enjoy this wonderful moment
Hurrah! Yippee! These women are heroes of actions
We are proud of them. They deserve at least equal pay
For equal work. I pray that nothing stands in their way
Thank you for the great soccer/football skills
That you have shown throughout the tournament
In France.Your ladies are lovely, winsome and elegant
You inspire me and give me enough energies and chills
To never give up, to work hard or to strive to succeed
May God grant all good health to survive and to lead!
Copyright © July 2019, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several books of poetry.
Rumors abound
All around town
Lily White
Needs a knight
She is tangled
Being wrangled
By the tricky trees
Planted by Peacocks from Leeds
Wolves are down under
Hearing wraths thunder
Drinking Burnley claret wine
Getting ready to do second tier time
In comes the Hammer girl
Wearing expensive pearls
Bought using Gallo credit
Wondering, ‘will anyone get it?’
Message, ‘relegate’
Easier opponents await
Fans will have reason to cheer
Dousing the same expensive beer
As players work on maturing skills
Crunching numbers, paying the bills
Oh yes, who is going to get dropped
Commentating, ‘our season truly was a flop’
Officially closing the show
Taking the athletic production to parts unknown
Goal now ‘will want to come back’
Claiming healed healthy, surviving a relegation attack
Soccer
In my childhood, we played football like other sports
But we didn't think much about it
But suddenly, as it appeared to me, the sport became
a craze with fanatical fans arguing about which
The team had the best goalkeeper or striker
The heart of soccer came from England; we knew
the names of the famous teams and the interviews
in a sports magazine about their life
That was about the time when I would rather read
a book, but to see frenzied fans going mad when their
team lost
I'm not against football, but it is essentially a sport
that has its beginning in the working class, and still
has its aura
It is a place where people with scant education can
become rich and feted for scoring goals
for the soccer stars, now an instrument for big
business, the prize is high, but many spend their
money buying an expensive car that shows the status
being recognized and written about
Although my interest in the sport- can we call it sport
I do take an interest when a tall Norwegian scores
goals and is regarded as famous.
Soccer Categories
Read wonderful soccer poetry on the following sub-topics:
acrostic, alliteration, cinquain, concrete, free verse, funny, haiku, limerick, inspirational, life, love, metaphor, messi, ronaldo, rhyme, school, simile, sonnet, spring, sports, summer, winter, world cup,
and more.
Definition | What is Soccer in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
Related Poetry Forms
cristiano ronaldo, lionel messi, association football, fifa, world cup, rugby, futbol, youth soccer, football, soccer ball, goalkeeper, sports,