Post match swim? A river...

And he sat down...
Playing forty minutes...
Football...
his limbs were numb...
And his friends...
They sat down too...

Sweating
They all...
The ball kissed by dewy grass shone
Still...
And he heard his young friends talking...
One said:
'God! Could have passed the ball
To the left...
Before the defender rushed in...'

'or you could have back kicked...
I was there...
You did not notice me...'

'no...
The centre line went too up...'

'no I did not...
I was only standing half...'

'and you fell into offside trap...'

The analysis continued...

he heard their animated discussions...

These post match dissections
he just loves them...

And looked he at the ball...
Shiny glistening leather...

And a white feather
Stray...
By the morning breeze on float...
Came and dropped...
On the ball itself...

'a blessing?'
he thought...

'hey guys!
Let's do one thing...
Each of us home going
Do some work...
We write down our exploits
And errors...
And we would be meeting again...
Right here...
After lunch...

We need more practice...
The match is near...'

he said...
his friends nodded...

'but before we go home
What about having something?
Like...
Going straight to the river
And having a cool dip?
A swim?'

Someone suggested...

And he and his young adventurers...
They rose up...
The river was calling them...
She must be flowing...
Cool...
Glistening...