A Poem by Duncan Jones
'Twas a beautiful day
That day of the game
'Gainst the champs that came from up-state
They were big, they were bad
And man they were glad
Because they knew that they were great
Some were mean, some were scarred
And they hit very hard
It made you think twice about playing
And that day of the game
'Gainst the champs from up-state
All the home team was up early praying
Soon the time came around
For the whistle to sound
For the crowd to cheer for their team
But the majority felt
That their hopes would soon melt
At least that was the way that it seemed
So the teams lined up ready
All tried to stand steady
Not wanting to show they were scared
Then the game had begun
Out there under the sun
And the ball was kicked into the air
There were crashes and grunts
And occasional punts
As the teams each took turns with the score
And they tore up the ground
As the time winded down
'Till the home team could give nothing more
With a few moments left
The crowd held its breath
But the home team was tired and sore
All their jerseys were soaked
They all seemed to be broke
And the champs were still winning by four
And those champs had the ball
So their coach made the call,
"Just waste time and kick it down field!
The clock will run out
While the ball's way down there
And our win will surely be sealed!"
One champ heard the call
So he called for the ball
And his eyes scanned the field for some space
And all that he saw
Was one player alone
So he wound up and kicked to that place
[Now I must interrupt you
To help you catch up to
The details surrounding that kid
Who was all by himself
Without any help
Before I can say what he did
All alone in the back
Far away from the pack
He surely was smaller than most
With a jersey too big
He was built like a twig
And was laughed at when he tried to boast
Nothing special from practice
The quite simple fact is
He'd never been given a chance
He would call for the ball
When his teammates would fall
But they hardly would give him a glance
Yet he practiced the same
And perfected his game
And put up with this day after day
He just did his job
And he never complained
And he always was ready to play
So that day of the game
'Gainst the champs from up-state
He lined up and played in his spot
But though he did call
No one passed him the ball
And teasing was all that he got
From the fans who laughed
When he called for the ball
And tried to distract him with boos
To the champs who shoved him
And pulled on his shirt
Saying, "Ha, your own fans laugh at you."
"You sure haven't done much
Try playing up front!"
Yelled one really mean fan from the bunch
Then in jumped one champ
Who said as he laughed,
"That's right, I mean, look at that runt!"
"You know? You are right.
You might win in a fight
You are big and you seem pretty strong."
Said that kid to that champ
Then he looked at the rest,
"We all know that I wouldn't last long.
You can toss me around
Or slam me to the ground
And trample me into the turf
But your size and your strength
Won't help you a bit
Because you'll have to catch me first
See, I'm faster than you
And I'll prove that it's true
Just one chance is all that I'll need
With a zip and a dash
I'll be gone in a flash
And you'll learn the real meaning of speed."
Now back to the action
Please excuse this distraction
But I needed to fill you in
It’s just me being lazy
‘Cause it drives me crazy
When I have to read it again]
That ball was kicked high
And it shot through the sky
Like a jack-rabbit out of a gun
The champs stared at the ball
And honed in on that kid
And then all of them started to run
That kid would be stranded
Was how the champs planned it
As they growled and crashed through his team
But when they shoved out the back
There was nobody there
All they saw was the field, bright and green
See, that ball never landed
He never was stranded
Not when you can move like he can
All alone in the back
Far away from the pack
He'd spent his time planning a plan
And the plan was just this,
"I'll just make them all miss!"
And he ran straight up into that rush
Of the mean and the scarred
That hit very hard
And the crowd was sure he'd be crushed
But he danced and he dodged
Silent everyone watched
That kid who came out of nowhere
As he moved up the field
He ran like a deer
His team thought, "We might have a prayer."
So into the mass
All of them he did pass
And he shot out the back of the pack
Once again all alone
He was on his way home
And the field was now his racetrack
The crowd blew up loud
And started to shout
There was no way the champs could catch him
Out there under the sun
The home team had won
Until something remarkable happened
Even the birds turned to watch
The ref looked at his clock
It said they were all out of time
And that kid stood alone
Down there in the end-zone
But the ball still sat outside the line
They barely knew what his name was
But that's how that game was
Lost by both teams that day
Neither team nor the crowd
Was allowed to be proud
All just stood there with nothing to say
And that kid walked away
But turned 'round to say
As he looked back at the field bright and green,
"When you show some respect
My help you will get
Until then I'll be on the track team ... "
