A successful failure
With two minutes hanging on the clock,
Our team was daydreaming on the “block”.
As the road to champion began to fade,
Our little-league’s history could not be made.
Soccer used to be my favorite.
White ball, green field and blue shirts.
It carried my friendship in school,
It wove our “comrades” into a whole.
We now in final for the first time,
We had longed to take the champion.
Then the news arrived —
The Tiger!
It was a thunder to our teammates,
We had never scored before their goalie,
Our best one was zero to three.
It had lived in infamy till this day.
We struggled at our defense,
to stop the ball flying around.
We sought the chance to deliver,
to our guys in the front.
We had overcome our difficulties,
Exhaustion never seem a problem.
But… They were always —
Quicker, swifter, cleverer…
The conclusion was about to come,
With two minutes we were trailed by one.
The cheer died down in front of me,
It started boiling from my behind.
As the ball passed the white line,
We gained a “valuable” corner-kick.
It was unwelcome to the clock, though
“Give up! Losers.”
Our guys seemed each energetic,
Though it wouldn’t bring any miracle at all.
We all knew what we had “battled” for,
Dignity and sacred honor.
Our mid-fielder kicked it into the air,
right in front of the goal.
Ten “rockets” shoot up simultaneously,
each with different goal.
The ball fell near top of my head,
I delivered it towards the goal.
The screaming silence squeezed me,
I broke the vacuum in my hope.
And …
And …
The ball flew off the goal post,
Half-an-inch away.
