A GRUESOME PORTRAIT
- Feb 27
- 1 min read
By L.M. Hardgrave
Coach always said:
“Never lower your helmet
during the tackle.”
I was a blocker
for the most part
I didn’t see much action.
My threadbare spine
is thankful.
But you, kid,
stuck in the flash.
What were you supposed to
do when Cody Stufflebean,
the moving beanstalk,
came at you,
holding the pigskin?
You bent your head,
prayed, to please
Dad.
*snap
You bent your head
please keep praying,
Dad.
As the ambulance drained the color
and two more arms were broken
I’m half convinced we played that game
on top of an Indian burial mound.
Cody went on playing.
I quit.
The arms got casted
and eventually healed.
I wonder if you got shorter.
I wonder if you ever walked again.
I wonder what your name was.
It’s like you only exist in that flash
that gruesome portrait of Midwest pride.