Rodeo Rider
A snorting bull in the chute
raising a quarter-mile of dust already,
guy could be having a quiet smoke on his porch
instead of climbing on that mad beast’s back,
could have an intimate supper with his girl
and then hit the sack early,
but he’s gripping as tight as he can
to that throbbing neck.
Even a beer at the bar surely
would be a whole lot more relaxing
than jerking and jostling on the spot,
waiting for the gate to open.
while there in front of him,
behind a high fence,
a crowd of vultures waits,
waving their wings, clicking their beaks,
eager to see how long his hat stays on his head
and the rest of him follows that topper
with a slam onto the ground
and maybe, if he’s unlucky,
becomes a target for the creature’s angry horns.
And for what? A cash prize?
barely enough money to fill the tank of his truck.
But it’s the rodeo,
either this or he’s all day banging in fence-posts,
working the fields up to his ankles in cow muck –
no cheers, no fears, then.
No one would be there to see him beat up
after a long day driving a tractor.
Riding the bull,
it’s over almost as soon as it’s begun,
No farming ever knocked him flat
in that kind of time.
***
This Inner-City Game
Dark streets twitch with dread.
Sirens carve the night open.
The city’s breath is sour and restless.
But somewhere a lone ball hits pavement.
And that ball keeps pounding and pounding.
It’s like a pulse that refuses to quit.
And it’s in the hands of kids
on warped asphalt courts.
One after the other weaves his way
through grabbing hands, a maze of legs,
takes aim and shoots at the rim.
The ball rises,
higher than the surrounding fence,
higher than the tenements,
swishes through the netless basket.
Every single one of them wants more
than this neighborhood has to offer.
But here’s the only place
where they get to take their shot.
***
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Midnight Mind, Willow Review and the Pennsylvania Literary Journal. Latest books, “Bittersweet,” “Subject Matters” and “Between Two Fires” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in the MacGuffin, the Bayou Review and Plainsongs.
