A Game of Two Halves, haibun written by Tim Gardiner at Spillwords.com

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A Game of Two Halves

Tim Gardiner·April 6, 2019

English Poetry

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A Game of Two Halves

written by: Tim Gardiner

@timgardiner3

Match day arrives, 12 November 1988, Norwich City versus Sheffield Wednesday in League One. I’m a ball boy for the game with the rest of my cub scout group. A magnificent chant of ‘On the Ball City’ echoes from the Carrow Road stands, enlivening the kick off and early play. I’m sat on a small wooden stool in freezing conditions; there’s no need for ball retrieval on my part as the first half passes slowly.

cool orange
the second half
tastes better

Fifteen minutes to go and I’m busting for a piss, with Norwich trying to cling on to their slender 1-0 advantage. Finally the ball comes my way. I rush over, throwing it quickly to a Sheffield Wednesday player as Norwich furiously back pedal in their own half. But the speed of my intervention is telling, the ball is in the back of the Norwich net within seconds. Silence at Carrow Road. Final score Norwich 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday.

final whistle
home advantage
wasted again

About
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Tim Gardiner

Dr Tim Gardiner is an ecologist, poet and children's author from Manningtree in Essex, UK. His haiku have been published in literary magazines including Frogpond, Modern Haiku and The Heron's Nest. His first collection of haiku, On the Edge, was published in 2017. Tim's debut children's book, The Voyage of the Queen Bee, was published by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2016.

Lou Storey

A textbook example of nominative determinism, Lou Storey has always been a storyteller, a fact well illustrated in his art and in his writing. His careers have reflected that as well, first as a creator of idea-based exhibitions for museums, and later as a psychotherapist employing narrative therapies. His art and his writing share qualities of rich texture and detail, examining our capacity to be absurd while allowing a measure of forgiveness for our foibles. Storey and his husband Steve retired in 2021 and moved from New Jersey to Savannah Georgia. “We love everything about Savannah, it is like a city that looks like a park and thinks it’s a small town. Best of all, we can grow bananas in the backyard!”

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