Football

.
the sheer brilliance of this game’s hook
amazes me—
it’s an homage to collision
a demo derby of organs and bones
of fans psyched to see some player’s
near-death experience.
it’s a feint game of fast footwork
leading to victory through hurt
all underlain with clever strategies
and agile trickers backed by large men
and place kickers, a mashup of history,
current events, and premonition
played in ten yard lunges
down fields of broken bones,
torn cartilage, ripped ligaments
concussions, and brute ambition

Jim Culleny,
9/9/15