My Grandfather used to
talk about it
He said
it was an incredible
game played every year
in elaborate stadiums
Many people at the time
were wealthy enough
to travel thousands of miles
to see it
Large men wearing
extravagant costumes
were paid the wage
of thirty laborers
to play out
battle scenarios
on the field
for hours
Food and water
were everywhere
and almost everyone
in attendance
could purchase
as much as they wanted
sometimes without
leaving their seats
The winning team
were given
golden rings
encrusted
with diamonds
and they were paraded
throughout the country
as heroes
as warriors
My Grandfather
talked about it often
before he died
Most of the family
never believed his stories
And I don’t blame them
it seems almost impossible
that such a thing
could ever exist here
I think he called it
the “Super Bowl”
Listen,
I’ve got to put this fire out
and get to bed
I’m up early
tomorrow morning
to make the
seven mile hike to the
Portland
water
station
You
wouldn’t
be able
to spare
an extra
bucket
and yoke
would
you?
*Thanks for the conversation ec.
10 responses ↓
1 Mark Goodyear | 26 Feb 2007
Robert, I don’t understand it either. I just finished reading The Road. “the /seven mile hike to the /Portland /water /station” reminds me of McCarthy’s bleak world.
2 Robert Bruce | 26 Feb 2007
Cormac McCarthy is a tooled strip of leather. Lean. Beautifully scarred. Unbreakable. There’s nothing around like Blood Meridian.
If any of my lines echo his style, I’m a lucky man.
3 Mark Goodyear | 27 Feb 2007
Lucky? Or just talented. Keep writing, dude. We’re reading.
4 Mychele | 27 Feb 2007
You move me.
5 Brian Clark | 27 Feb 2007
I hear there’s big money in reverse osmosis desalination.
6 Jessica Doyle | 1 Mar 2007
I like the poem when it ends there. Leaves much more to the imagination of what has been and what could be again.
7 Mark Goodyear | 2 Mar 2007
Well, if we’re going to be critics, I share Jessica’s sense that there is room to trim here–I suspect most readers won’t need to have sport spelled out for them. BUT please keep the next paragraph with the fire metaphor. It’s too cool.
8 Mark Goodyear | 2 Mar 2007
Paragraph? I meant stanza. (Now back to editing prose…)
9 Jessica Doyle | 5 Mar 2007
A critic. mmm. I’ll have to agree with you Mark on the next “stanza” staying put. I don’t believe I would have known it was the superbowl until it had been spelled out. Up to that point I was in awe.
I love the tales our grandparents and now parents speak of days past. Soon we will speak of them to.
10 Mark Goodyear | 6 Mar 2007
You know, I regreted that post after making it. Robert never asked for criticism–and I shouldn’t have made it. But darn it, I’m an editor! I can’t help it sometimes.
Robert, do know this. I never critique work I don’t love.
Also, Liz Strauss listed you as one of her first fifteen truly unique blogs! Congrats dude!
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