Bill Vartnaw will be a featured poet on Tuesday, August 26, during the Listen & Be Heard Radio Open Mic.

opening kickoff

first down & 10 yards to go

on the 47 yard line…

midway through the second quarter

first down & 10 yards to go

on the 47 yard line…

Wamba swears

he is having a deja-vu experience

Billy Ralph explains

the rules of the game

 

a camera on the sidelines

pans the stands for beautiful women

everyone is wearing shoulder pads

girdle pads, knee pads & helmets

the left guard pulls

the quarterback fumbles the handoff

a fight breaks out in the 4th row

no one is hurt on the play

 

a disinterested man in white shouts:

cold beer, bottle of beer, here

the down changes

the teams huddle

someone thinks the beauty of the game

lies in the eyes of the spectator

someone else’s favorite player

darts off tackle

behind a trap block & hits

the open field in a game

not necessarily being played today

the referee throws a yellow flag

a physicist hazards a guess

on wind resistance

as the flag lands on the grass

there is no conflict

 

a child bites down on a hotdog

mustard falls on his green lap

the p.a. announces a penalty

for illegal procedure

number 74

a tackle with the wind

knocked out of him

lies on his back with his knees up

his hands are taped & bleeding

someone calls time-out

a button is pushed

millions of people watch

a life insurance commercial

a couple make love unnoticed

(except for Billy Ralph)

in the last row of seats

they are still wearing shoulder pads

the memory of Wilhelm Reich

lingers over them

like a passing zephyr

 

touchdown!  :yells the radio announcer

number 33 throws the ball in the stands

another fight breaks out

another identity crisis culminates

the referee lifts his hands above his head

5 plays later

first down & 10 yards to go

on the 47 yard line…

 

so what’s new?  :says Wamba

Ya hafta play it

to believe it  :says Billy Ralph

limping out of the stadium

with an old injury