Monday, January 7, 2019

Ode to a National Pastime



Young men
tribute to ancient gladiators
fitted with helmets and awesome shoulder pads,
formidable apparitions
built like anvils
torsos hewn from ferocious action,
superb exemplars of manly flesh.

Young men
on the escape route
from poverty’s gnawing
relentless and aching abyss,
adored and maligned by anxious spectators
primed for the adrenalin rush
blood sport of the games.

Young men
readied for combat
relentless drills
blind obeisance to
dictates of savage competition
to make team owners remarkably rich.

Young men
destined to a future
adorned with consequences
battered brains within
assaulted skulls and
thoroughly abused bodies,
such are the hallmarks of
civilization.