neil dufty
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THE RIME OF THE CENTRAL COAST MARINER
by Neil Dufty
Part 1 The Scene
It is a Central Coast Mariner,
Who ventures to the Bluetongue,
He joins with other Marinators,
To follow the team, have some fun.
Now the Marinators have a man with pipes,
To support the Scottish coach,
They beat their drums, sing their songs,
They become a raucous host.
The Bluetongue pitch was scarred from drought,
The grass was certainly sparse,
It was enough to make a local pout,
Some thought it was a farce.
Now the Brisbane Roar were the Mariners foe,
They had not had a single loss,
And they came to the game with a swagger,
Theyd be really hard to toss.
Part 2 The First Half
To start, Coach McKinna primed up his team
On how they should be playing,
Aach laddies, aye boot ta the foowords,
What the hell is Coach saying?
And soon the Coast goalie was getting upset,
For he had not stopped one of three,
Three goals against was too much to handle,
Frustration was there to see.
Now Coach McKinna was looking thinner,
The Marinators were in a pickle,
Even the bag pipe was becoming deflated,
But they would not be fickle.
Part 3 Half Time
In the sheds, the team was recovering,
As the heavens opened up,
The ground became a massive sink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
And the coach was giving a tongue-lashing,
As the rain lashed across the ground,
Though no one in the team could hear him,
There was lots of despair around.
Now near the Marinators a starved bird did settle,
Theyd be upset if the Albatross died,
And the Marinators fed the bird till it was sated;
A knot between bird and club was tied.
Part 4 The Second Half
As a rainy gloom fell around the ground,
The coach was getting misty,
It reminded him of his bonnie old land,
He held back tears, not to be sissy.
Hey Clarky, hoot man, goot over ere:
The super-sub was Andrew Clark;
This player Clark could turn a game
And really leave his mark.
The coach gave Clark his final instructions:
Laddie, foor in a row,
This left the sub slightly perplexed,
He thought Coach said libero.
So Clark ran on as libero,
A role with a roving commission,
But the coach had wanted him at the back,
So Clark was out of position.
And Clark was running all over the field,
Like a chook without a head,
And as the coach was yelling fool back,
Clark thought he was fooling the Roar instead!
Now the Roar was the first of the teams to score,
On the sodden pitch, an own goal,
Then Hutchison blasted one from long range
And striker Simon another stole.
The score was now three goals-all,
The Marinators were full of song,
Another come back was in the wind,
It excited the Central Coast throng.
Then the official signalled extra time,
The game was taking its toll,
And as Clark was roamin in the gloamin,
The ball flicked him and trickled in the goal.
GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! The mike man yelled,
And team mates rushed over to Clark;
As the final whistle of the match was blown,
There was cheering across the park.
Part 5 The Wash Up
Now it was hailed a McKinna masterstroke:
Giving Clark the roving commission,
And though Coach did try to explain it,
None knew he was out of position.
And the supporters sang long into the night,
The piper was in full wind,
They had gotten over their half-time gloom,
Their heads were in a spin.
Now Clark was flushed with his success,
He had no sense of forlorn,
A happier and wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn.
And high above an Albatross flew over,
It had a feeling of dj vu,
Instead of following an Ancient Mariner,
There were Mariners to follow that were new.
(Authors note: Apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge for the take on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
More Neil Dufty poems at www.neildufty.id.au
by Neil Dufty
Part 1 The Scene
It is a Central Coast Mariner,
Who ventures to the Bluetongue,
He joins with other Marinators,
To follow the team, have some fun.
Now the Marinators have a man with pipes,
To support the Scottish coach,
They beat their drums, sing their songs,
They become a raucous host.
The Bluetongue pitch was scarred from drought,
The grass was certainly sparse,
It was enough to make a local pout,
Some thought it was a farce.
Now the Brisbane Roar were the Mariners foe,
They had not had a single loss,
And they came to the game with a swagger,
Theyd be really hard to toss.
Part 2 The First Half
To start, Coach McKinna primed up his team
On how they should be playing,
Aach laddies, aye boot ta the foowords,
What the hell is Coach saying?
And soon the Coast goalie was getting upset,
For he had not stopped one of three,
Three goals against was too much to handle,
Frustration was there to see.
Now Coach McKinna was looking thinner,
The Marinators were in a pickle,
Even the bag pipe was becoming deflated,
But they would not be fickle.
Part 3 Half Time
In the sheds, the team was recovering,
As the heavens opened up,
The ground became a massive sink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
And the coach was giving a tongue-lashing,
As the rain lashed across the ground,
Though no one in the team could hear him,
There was lots of despair around.
Now near the Marinators a starved bird did settle,
Theyd be upset if the Albatross died,
And the Marinators fed the bird till it was sated;
A knot between bird and club was tied.
Part 4 The Second Half
As a rainy gloom fell around the ground,
The coach was getting misty,
It reminded him of his bonnie old land,
He held back tears, not to be sissy.
Hey Clarky, hoot man, goot over ere:
The super-sub was Andrew Clark;
This player Clark could turn a game
And really leave his mark.
The coach gave Clark his final instructions:
Laddie, foor in a row,
This left the sub slightly perplexed,
He thought Coach said libero.
So Clark ran on as libero,
A role with a roving commission,
But the coach had wanted him at the back,
So Clark was out of position.
And Clark was running all over the field,
Like a chook without a head,
And as the coach was yelling fool back,
Clark thought he was fooling the Roar instead!
Now the Roar was the first of the teams to score,
On the sodden pitch, an own goal,
Then Hutchison blasted one from long range
And striker Simon another stole.
The score was now three goals-all,
The Marinators were full of song,
Another come back was in the wind,
It excited the Central Coast throng.
Then the official signalled extra time,
The game was taking its toll,
And as Clark was roamin in the gloamin,
The ball flicked him and trickled in the goal.
GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! The mike man yelled,
And team mates rushed over to Clark;
As the final whistle of the match was blown,
There was cheering across the park.
Part 5 The Wash Up
Now it was hailed a McKinna masterstroke:
Giving Clark the roving commission,
And though Coach did try to explain it,
None knew he was out of position.
And the supporters sang long into the night,
The piper was in full wind,
They had gotten over their half-time gloom,
Their heads were in a spin.
Now Clark was flushed with his success,
He had no sense of forlorn,
A happier and wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn.
And high above an Albatross flew over,
It had a feeling of dj vu,
Instead of following an Ancient Mariner,
There were Mariners to follow that were new.
(Authors note: Apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge for the take on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
More Neil Dufty poems at www.neildufty.id.au
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