Board Drill

Peter Hogan

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On the football field I am a boy crashing 
against a mountain and being pushed back

except the mountain is a man who is the trill 
of a steel whistle, a full metal jacket, a shepherd

in the same sense a hangman shepherds 
I am young and losing in front of everyone

It's not easy being young and a big fella
every bigman's dream is to sprout wings / we've never been any good at lying flat / we are

measured by the space we consume, let my cannonball gut be a purpose
out here, its summer, and the boys circle and howl

When a man is nose-to-nose with another man he must break the other nose
he must crack the other sternum, bury the other in a coffin of clotted dirt and grass clippings

Who among us knows what they want
Who among us doesn't try taking everything

There is a plank we straddle
There's a rhythm in the crashing against me now

We sweat We blink We look like we're hugging 
but our cleats are anchored in the war and the dirt

Either he moves or I do

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A good offensive lineman never washes his gloves

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the line of scrimmage is / a trench / a leathered pigskin / digs / his chin from mine / gnarling / ram-bucking / ready to fight / my eyes locked / oil-slicked rifle / fire ready / he’s not wearing gloves / milk / in his cuticles / my knuckles / stench-scabbed stirring / trigger-target / his neck / grate his calf / limburger / buckle his knees / prayer / answer / smother / the vinegar of my glove / inside his mask / inside his / teeth / these are my filthy fingers / my blooded spit / let them cement / his grave / may he remember my cleat / may he whimper / squalor in mud / may he / get a good look at my back / if he gets up / rattle his ribcage / wind chime / another time / deep-in-the-shit / get over it

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Peter Hogan was born and raised in Memphis, TN, and is happy to call it home. He received his MFA in Poetry from the University of Memphis, where he also taught for two years. He currently works in marketing because bills are a thing. His poems can be found in Yemassee, The New Plains Review, Rougarou, and more. He can be reached at peteghogan@gmail.com. 

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