from San Diego
to Kirksville
in two months flat
via telephone.
His deliveries were consistent,
if anything,
2 and 9
2 and 9.
What a way to end your career.
He brought a team of bulldogs
to a jungle,
unprepared,
and it showed.
77 to 7 proves
Gorillas have no mercy.
He hand delivered
my disdain for football
with a grin.
He married a Currier
and she delivered their third child
while he was delivering a special package
to that cute receptionist.
He married a Currier
and she delivered their third child
while he was delivering a special package
to that cute receptionist.
He brought in dozens of coaches
who fled
because they weren't bound
by scholarships.
Hickory stick--lost in transport.
Winning seasons--who put that "s" there?
If only they had seen the big
return to sender
sign that was written on the faces
of dozens of players and coaches who left
and the "we don't want him" scream
that our mostly empty stadium chanted.
Tommy, this poem struck me as the strongest of the lot so far. Moody and direct, there's an emotion that comes through loud and clear but not heavy handed. The language rolls smoothly, and the ending echoes in a not-too-tidy closure. Nice.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite too, but all of these are strong. I don't give a damn about football, and this is totally not my style of poetry, but the confidence and naturalness of these keeps me reading. Even more effective are the places where you'll isolate a phrase or image without undue explanation or context, letting the language do the work (e.g., "hickory stick--lost in transport").
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