Tuesday, October 14, 2003
youth classic
they’re assembling ahead of me,
tubas and trombones,
bass to the sides,
snares in back,
pop and american pep between the trees
i enter the park where no one knows my name,
pick-up trucks turning in
front of me,
biceps of the linemen flex and unhinge,
like triggers,
traffic stops as the trumpet loses
his hat crossing the road
i run through the falling leaves,
crowd pulsing behind me, ahead
men in canvas hats unload
long boxes and beer cans,
exhaust and gunpowder,
gasoline endings
I run over
bass drums and backfires:
dodging the falling
colors, shots begin,
loudspeaker announcements,
last names and anthems,
positions and pathos,
ahead of me an orange duck disappears
over open water,
an imaginary bottle
exploding without fizz,
the crowd roars,
i run on,
bullet to clay,
rubber to grass,
legs blending into night
as the stadium glow fades,
the ducks above water,
form lost,
falling leaves
i run on,
clashing bodies and whistles,
orange sparks before,
by water,
they are consumed
tubas and trombones,
bass to the sides,
snares in back,
pop and american pep between the trees
i enter the park where no one knows my name,
pick-up trucks turning in
front of me,
biceps of the linemen flex and unhinge,
like triggers,
traffic stops as the trumpet loses
his hat crossing the road
i run through the falling leaves,
crowd pulsing behind me, ahead
men in canvas hats unload
long boxes and beer cans,
exhaust and gunpowder,
gasoline endings
I run over
bass drums and backfires:
dodging the falling
colors, shots begin,
loudspeaker announcements,
last names and anthems,
positions and pathos,
ahead of me an orange duck disappears
over open water,
an imaginary bottle
exploding without fizz,
the crowd roars,
i run on,
bullet to clay,
rubber to grass,
legs blending into night
as the stadium glow fades,
the ducks above water,
form lost,
falling leaves
i run on,
clashing bodies and whistles,
orange sparks before,
by water,
they are consumed
