I’m old enough that I have seen him live upon our telly

Though not in ‘58 or ‘62

A number 10 in blue and gold whose name we knew as Pele.

 

His grace suggested poetry of Byron, Keats or Shelley

A ballet dancer cast in gold and blue

(I learned this from the magazines and not from our old telly).

 

The players in opposing teams had legs that looked like jelly

”Go left? Go right?” They wouldn’t have a clue

So in the pre-match talk might vow to “ kick to death that Pele”

 

It didn’t ever matter though for in a goalmouth melee

It seemed the ball stuck to his feet like glue

You’ll catch these clips on You Tube but I saw it on our telly.

 

He had it all, the grace, the skill; with no soft under-belly

Hence others stand behind him in the queue

Messi and Diego; but the GOAT was always Pele.

 

So you may marvel at the Greats like Rembrandt, Botticelli,

da Vinci; they were Masters - that is true

But in my lifetime I have seen their peer upon my telly

A No 10 in blue and gold who is forever “Pele”.