I have carried the love for you seemingly forever.

For forty years I have lived with you

in my heart, my very soul

and there has not been a single day

in all that time in which I have not thought of you.

I have stood by you, watched you fall from grace,

I have seen you tumble down and graze your pride,

I have seen you become the main villain

in your own deluded play and the performance

of a lifetime snatched from the jaws of defeat;

I love you, I might find you unreliable,

I have found you irritating, I have written

you notes of tender passing, I have protested

trying to keep your virtue safe

and bountiful.

I will always love you,

you have been the light in the dark,

the reason for breathing,

the third party in a marriage,

and to one I was willing to give up on being used like waste,

I have put your photographs, snapshots and colourful

pull outs on my wall and I have surveyed all those others

who you allowed to wear your shirts, your clothes and yet

I never once got the chance besides the ones

I bought in your name.

I have been one of a couple of thousand

in your bed, I have been one of million

inside your head;

I dream of you to get sleep,

I have lifted you up on a pedestal

and took the sorrow, the pain, the blues

with fondness.

I love you though you no longer have me

in your arms at all times my lover,

yet for forty years, I thank you

as I kiss you goodnight.

Dedicated to all who have had Manchester City Football Club tattooed on their hearts.

Ian D. Hall 2016