Leigh Anthony Manley ‘The Moon is not a Dream Anymore’

A poem to celebrate the Welsh national football team’s achievement in reaching their first World Cup Finals since 1958

The Moon is not a Dream Anymore

(Inspired by Wales v Ukraine, 5^th June 2022, FIFA World Cup Play-off Final)

The last time we were there
Pelѐ had the world at his feet
and man had not set foot on the moon
but the moon is not a dream anymore.

Sixty-four years of heartache dissolved
right in front of us, on Leckwith grass;
distant space I used to rush
and the moon is not a dream anymore.

The Tredegar Boys know.
The Merthyr Boys know.
The Llangynwyd Boys know.
The wild expanse of Cymru knows.
The moon is not a dream anymore.

We Inherit The Past inscribed on our flags.
When God Created Joe Allen He Was Just 
Showing Off, emblazoned too. The heavens 
opened, Dafydd Iwan soaked us in anthem,
and Wales reigned.
Hail! Hail! Gareth Bale!

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Leigh Anthony Manley was brought up in Maesteg, but now lives in Cardiff. A graduate of English Literature from Aberystwyth University, Leigh turned to poetry as therapy in response to ill health in 2017. Leigh’s writing explores working class Welshness and his passion for sport. Find him on Instagram @bardcalon