Gridiron Greats
written by: John Grochalski
@JohnGrochalski
there were three of them
the coach had those boys
chase me around the track
because he thought i was dogging it in practice
all three offensive linemen
all a year older
huge and more mature
yellow-toothed giants
grinning like murderers
whenever i looked back
chasing me until i fell on the cinder
dry heaving instead of vomiting
two of them picking me up
putting my arms over their shoulders
like a torture victim
dragging me over
to the other lineman
tossing my limp body back on the grass
so that they could
bend down into their three-point stances
with all of the other heroes
ready to
set and punch
set and punch
at
coach’s
command
like all the gridiron greats
who came before them.
John Grochalski is the author of five poetry collections and three novels. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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