Reflecting on my years on the “Pitch” .. applying the “Laws of the Game” per FIFA, NCAA, Youth Soccer, and the Federation..
OFFSIDES
Fresh air, goalposts
Lines inviolate,
boundaries secured
Spherical games
adrenaline supreme
Twenty-two players,
diplomats off the field,
acrobats on
Chemistry of passion,
passion for the goal
Graceful maneuvers
passing back and forth
How beautiful a game
observing talent in motion,
where each player used his/her brain
Foul against opponent--
Hide behind the crowd,
measly-mouthed fan and parent
The language is plain
spoken universally,
Enforcing the rules
ever so difficult
Colleagues in uniform
black with white trim
Would-be public enforcers (?),
or those seeking the challenge,
for love of the game
We converged on the field
partaking of the battle
with resolve and wisdom
Farewell, Nelson
you symbolized an era;
Now we have computers
stacking the deck
Twenty years reflected,
each time I pass a field
thousands of whistles blown,
still playing in my psyche
Youth, college, adult, embassy league soccer,
now strata of leadership
Thirty and over league,
now sedate
How time equalizes,
never too late
The mosaic of life
continuously enriched
April 4, 1997
© 1999 Odysseus Mikalis
Odysseus' Quest 