VIII
Ritual

...he's been ere what, two years?
Fastest to fifty goals, a fuckin legend.
As if Chelski are after him.
If he did that he'd be a fuckin bellend.
More than. But he won't.
The lads, in their liquid,
could not believe what they were watching
on the vidi-printer,

the yellow-and-black chevrons flashing:
Torres to Chelsea: £50m?!
It was all Burger could do to stand up,
spread his arms like a livid Liver Bird
and sing the holy words:
hold me back, hold me back!
I don't wanna get my head kicked in,
hold me back!