0-8 FOUR YEARS IN A ROW (HIGH SCHOOL) by Dan Provost

Late November New England.
Deep freeze, 4:45 PM, sun already
set as we walked back to the locker room.

Heads down, bodies ached, minds numb
from thirty mile per hour wind gusts, our helmets
locked on frigid heads, shoulder pads stiff and
stifled, refusing to leave our bodies.

A self-indulged path to ammonia for sophomores,
who have the inevitable task of picking up all the
blocking dummies and equipment and throwing them
into the rusted shed…God forbid they forget anything, for it
will be laps tomorrow.

Channel 4 is predicting snow.

Another year of being crushed on Friday nights…being the
poor stepchild of the Tri-Valley League, beaten week after
week by our big brothers.

45-7, 32-0, 52-6.

Preparing to play Westwood on Friday.  Another fast exit to
a weekend of doldrums.  Where Saturday morning we watch
film of ourselves getting our ass kicked.
Then spending Saturday night hoping to get someone to buy beer for our
team of thirty players.

Sunday…spent in bed, dreaming of my Algebra crush and watching the Pats getting crushed on NBC.

Monday?  Spent in horror…Getting ready to start the famished routine again.

 

Dan Provost’s poetry has been published both online and in print since 1993.  He is the author of 17 books/chapbooks, including All in a Pretty Little Row, released by Roadside Press, in November 202.  Notes From the Other Side of the Bed will be published by A Thin Slice of Anxiety Press in early 2025.  His work has been nominated for The Best of the Net three times and has read his poetry throughout the United States.  He lives in Keene, New Hampshire with his wife Laura, and dog Bella.

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