The Sideliners

The infamous few.

Always present, I never truly realised what they did.

One day I will sift through the pigsty of memories in my head

And I will thank them properly for what they hid.

As although they may just have been a part of the bundled-up screams,

On the sideline, I know whose voices belonged to the brightening beams.

Their voices have a distinct, unnatural, perfect fit.

The one; honest and sincere.

The other; childlike, with a sneer.

However, interchangeable between the two.

The sideliners only ever had one key unspoken rule.

Never drag the players attention away from the game.

But I know who they are.

I know who told me to run. I know who told me to stop.

I know who told me to pass. I know who was there.

It was the two who were always there. For good, or for worse.

When I need them, and when they need me — to perform.

The two polar opposites that mesh so perfectly — adorned.

Those who scream and shout in the heat of the moment. Those who, when calm are overlooked, but will always remain.

The Sideliners.