Poems from my Archives. Originally Published 07/12/2011

Why so sad” the old man asked of the little kids at the Park?
“We would like to play “they said, “but we do not have a ball and  it will soon be dark”.

“You are in luck”, the old man said,
“A ball is in my car. Wait here while I get it for you as it is not too far”.

The old man returned with the soccer ball and tossed it to the kids and said,  “Have fun with this and I will wait and watch to see if you can head”.

The kids being American, immediately began, to toss the ball from hand to hand, remembering  what they had seen, on the television screen.

The old man, who was of English descent cried, “No, no that is not what I meant, this is a football but of a different shape than what you know. This to you is a soccer ball and you should place it by your toe, so that with the foot it can be played”.

The kids gave the man a despairing look as if to say,” Play with the foot”?
“Why would we want to do that when it is so much easier to catch”.

“Watch me”, the old man said and began to juggle with his head, from there he moved the ball down to his feet and while juggling began to speak of games from long ago. He mentioned all of the famous players, like Rooney and David Beckham and said to them, “You know, these famous players all began, kicking a ball in the Park. They did it then for a lark and now, look at them”.

His juggling was very fine so he kicked the ball to the biggest kid and said, “Now you try”.
The  biggest kid gave it a go but did not have the skill to show and quickly gave it up.

The smallest kid stepped up and said, “Let me try for what I can see, all it takes is dexterity. I believe that I have this skill to get this ball up off the ground and to my head where I can see just how good I think I am with this new skill that I have found”.

The little kid did his best but found, that even though he felt it was something he could do, the ball to foot dexterity was something very new. If, he was to succeed, more training he would need and promised himself that it was something he could do.

The old man said, “Look, let me show you how it is done. I have more balls in the car and you shall each get one so that you may try to learn to juggle just like I”.

So started the first of many, training sessions for the kids who’s self-esteem was sent sky-high, boosted by their attempts to juggle and willing to give it a try. Like the old man who showed them the way who just happened to be around that day.

Don’t forget to check out my old blog at https://pondblog2011.com
I have decided to reprint the poetry that I have written these past 11 years that was posted in the blog listed above. So, starting tomorrow, every Tuesday and Thursday there will be a posting of my poetry from long ago added to this blog. Much of it reflects my changing life and my different interests over the years. With over three hundred poems, it should be good for a while before I run out of ideas. Enjoy…

© Francis Allcorn
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