Greek to Me
Rain comes down, soft at first
but my brothers and some friends
play through it in our pickup
game of unholy football
on the holy ground of
the Greek Orthodox church
in nineteen seventy-two.
Then, the rain comes harder
stupid hard
monsoon hard
Woodstock in ‘69 hard
but we play on
too wet to care
bridled in aquatic joy.
Plays are drawn up on
the chest of a teammate
then carried out
waddling at top speed
to avoid slips and spills
which happen regardless
sideways and crossways
in the muddy deluge
of pre-teen recklessness
in summer’s maelstrom
and none of us
can stop grinning
with the knowledge that
all we are doing goes
against every rule of
common sense
none of us
quite smart enough
to come in out of the rain.
‘74 Luker Limericks
They were a ragtag bunch of players
coached with no room for errors
they won lots of games
and didn’t take names
with two running backs like Sayers.
Coach drove an old Ford convertible
his desire to win irrefutable
he gave St. Lukes his best
never seeming to rest
in the end things turned out beautiful.
Our season began at St. Clair
all our practices were held there
calisthenics and push ups
running laps and sit ups
left many gasping for air.
The cheerleaders did cheer us on
relentless with energy and song
cheered give me an ‘L’!
lifted us up when we fell
all part of the team we were on.
We finished out six and one
Nativity was left undone
we went to the playoffs
to battle the showoffs
and beat Sacred Heart with the run.
St. Bernards was next on the docket
best in the city we rocked it
a defensive shutdown
a trip to the showdown
on a roll and no one could stop it.
St. Charles we played for it all
on a cold, frigid day in the fall
we beat them quite soundly
and boasted profoundly
Lukers are champs from St. Paul!
Jim has four memoirs, At the Lake, Cretin Boy, Dirty Shirt and The Portland House. He also has six poetry collections, Tea in the Pacific Northwest, Thoughts from a Line at the DMV, Genetically Speaking, On a Road, Written Life and Reciting from Memory. He lives in Waukesha.