American Portrait 16 by Ken HarnischDeirdre Allen Forrester
Pushes her hair up
And smiles in the bathroom mirror
Acknowledging she looks good
At last, just as the voice from downstairs
Rattles the quiet of the house
With its raucous fog horn bellow.
Dee! It calls. Deeeeeeeeeee!
She comes downstairs slowly,
Careful not to topple the case of Bud her
Brother-in-law has brought to the festivities
And placed haphazardly on the risers
Ronnie comes from the kitchen wearing
That yellow foam cheese wedge
On his head, his cheekbones darkened with
Eye black, the old Bart Starr shirt faded now
From years and years of washing
And just barely recognizable
So how do I look, babe? Ronnie says
Ready, huh? Ready, wouldnt ya say?
And then Stanley comes out of the kitchen
With his gold, black and white Jerome Bettis
Jersey and the Magic Marker legend scrawled
Across his chest reading, THE BUS STOPS HERE!
Deirdre smiles tightly and says, You both look smashing.
And then she looks at Stanley and the clock;
The half empty bottle of Bud in his hand;
And says, starting early this year, Stan?
Wah, wah? Stanley says, One day a year
And shes complainin Ron? The two men
Laugh, exactly the same, the way brothers
Sometimes do, and Stan goes in the kitchen
And comes back with a second bottle of Bud.
Stuffing it in Ronnies hand, he says, See,
You aint an alcoholic, if you drink with a buddy.
And the two men laugh exactly the same
Again.
Whens the game? Deirdre asks, knowing
Already this is preliminary, thats its 11 AM,
That the pre-game doesnt start till 2, that the kick-off
Isnt until 6:24. In the days when she stayed
At home she had this down pat and often
Ran herself ragged making hor douerves
For the men who seemed to have a knack
For feeding the rug more than their mouths
Now she buys frozen stuff from BJs
And runs Ronnie through the paces
Of the oven and the microwave
And prays only that the wreckage
Will be manageable when she comes home.
So, where you going this year, babe? Ron asks
As she hefts her coat up over her shoulders
The girls and I are going to a movie, and dinner later,
She says. I should be home by eleven.
And Stan says, Which movie? Not that Brokedown Mountain
Or whatchamacallit, I hope. And she smiles and says Maybe, Stan;
You never know. And Stan hoots,
Grabbing his brother around the neck, saying,
Now theres two guys know how to hand off, right Ronnie?
And Ronnie guffaws, coming back with, Block and tackle, bro,
Block and Tackle! And then Ronnie lunges at his
Brother and pushes him up against the kitchen sink
Spilling Bud and knocking the cheese wedge
Off his own head and as they grapple
On the tiled floor, laughing exactly the same,
Deirdre goes to the door and says, Play nice boys.
And Ronnie dont make a mess, before
She goes out into the cold.
Later in a room
Standing before the full-length mirror
In just a slip, her lovers arms draped
Loose around her waist, Deirdre leans back
And kisses his cheek. How is it, she says,
I find the only guy in the world who doesnt like football?
And Simon smiles and says, I like football plenty, just
Not the Super Bowl. Its just Roman bread and circuses to me.
And when she smiles, somewhat dubiously,
He says, You dont believe me?
And lets his hand
Rise slowly to the side of her breast
See, he says. That I call a forward pass
And she moans softly as she arches into his fingers,
Whispering, And what do you call a touchdown?
02/04/2006 Author's Note: For Super Bowl widows everywhere..and after hearing Johnny Taylor's 1968 classic, "Who's Making Love To Your Old Lady(While You Were Out Making Love)"
Posted on 02/04/2006 Copyright © 2025 Ken Harnisch
Member Comments on this Poem |
Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 02/04/06 at 09:13 PM � please let me know what happens when the bases are loaded! :) :) :) � Brilliant, as always! |
Posted by Kate Demeree on 03/23/06 at 02:14 PM As soon as I turn the fan on, and open the window I may be able to leave a coherent comment! OMG this sizzles ... how irony does play a part in life... You Just Keep Getting Better Ken! One day when you are published I will be able to say... "I knew him when..." Great to see yet another edition of AP~! |
Posted by Paganini Jones on 11/18/06 at 09:04 PM You paint a great picture and spin a good yarn as always. |
Posted by Carolyn Coville on 04/19/07 at 03:16 PM devious! yet enjoyable as ever :) |
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