Wild Court

An international poetry journal based in the English Department of King’s College London

Two poems by Matthew Stewart

 
 

    Shortheath Road

 

In a suburb of my former home town
on the way to a relegation clash,
I stop to get a pasty for half-time
at our corner shop, waiting in a queue
alongside freshly elderly people.

They’re the latest versions of Mum and Dad:
Damart trousers, Dannimacs and stout shoes.
A diffidence is creeping over them,
a new uncertainty that makes them pause
at every shuffle in case they stumble.

Back in the car, following old routines
- ignition, lights and the rear-view mirror -
I prod the grey that’s seeped through my sideburns
like moisture through tissue paper.
First gear, and I’m off to the match.

 

 

    At the Far Post

 

Forget your novels, plays or films,
the only remaining moment
I can suspend my disbelief

is an overcast Saturday
in March, stood among curses, coughs
and scarves on a crumbling terrace,

as our winger hoists a deep cross,
our striker buries his header
and all of us erupt.

 
 

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Author:

Matthew Stewart

Matthew Stewart works in the Spanish wine trade and lives between Extremadura and West Sussex. His first full collection, The Knives of Villalejo, was published in 2017, and his second full collection is Whatever You Do, Just Don’t, forthcoming from HappenStance Press in November 2023.

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2 responses to “Two poems by Matthew Stewart”

  1. A Poem by Matthew Stewart – Wear The Fox Hat avatar
    A Poem by Matthew Stewart – Wear The Fox Hat

    […] At the Far PostForget your novels, plays or films,the only remaining momentI can suspend my disbelief is an overcast Saturdayin March, stood among curses, coughsand scarves on a crumbling terrace,as our winger hoists a deep cross,our striker buries his headerand all of us erupt.This poem was first published at Wild Court […]

  2. A poem by Matthew Stewart – The Lyrical Aye: Richie McCaffery avatar
    A poem by Matthew Stewart – The Lyrical Aye: Richie McCaffery

    […] poet and poem del dia needs little preamble from me. Matthew Stewart lives between Extremadura in Spain and West Sussex and he works in the Spanish wine trade. He is […]