Written for the prompt X is for X
The Silence Of Saturday Teatime
Every week my dad would write
His Xs in the column:
A ritual time-honoured,
Almost sacred, always solemn.
He diligently worked out – well,
I say ‘worked out’, he guessed
Which teams would win or lose or draw,
Whose score would be the best.
On Friday evening at the door
The coupon man would be;
I never knew his name – he was
‘The coupon man’ to me.
He’d walk along the local streets,
Knocking door to door,
Collecting forms and entry fees
From hopeful souls galore.
His battered leather satchel
Carried all our hopes and dreams;
Our future prospects riding on
The scores of football teams.
On Saturday the teams would play
And try to beat each other
But teatime Saturday – no sound
From me, my mum or brother.
We couldn’t speak, laugh, sing, or cough
We knew they were the rules
While on the telly scores were read
To those who’d done the pools.
The papers printed fixture lists
And Dad wrote down each score
And maybe this week we would see
Dame Fortune at our door.
But as a score forecaster
My dear dad was not much good;
We never won a million
I suspect we never would.
Undaunted, he would try again,
The coupon man would call,
But when the final scores came in
My poor dad’s hopes would fall.
More Xs in a column,
Silent teatime Saturday;
No luck but next week there would be
Another chance to play.
It didn’t seem to bother him
Each week turned out the same:
The promise of great riches but
No winnings from this game.
© Carol Carman 2025
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