POETRY -
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A Field of Play - Weebly.com
Delayed Replay
by Thomas O. Davenport
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When Coronavirus Turns Every Sports Channel into ESPN Classic—Replays of games that already happened.
New York Times, March 16, 2020 I sit here sequestered, the virus still raging Outside—so I’m inside, ensconced, disengaging From prior life as I once thought that I knew it No contact, for experts say I must eschew it So I turn for solace to my TV screen Just staring at games that I’ve already seen At tourneys and matches and contests of yore They all look familiar—I’ve seen them before There’s football and basketball, hockey and tennis To keep us inside and away from the menace Despite channel flipping, I find nothing new It’s all just an exercise in déjà vu So on goes my team cap and team jersey too Though no player sees me, what else can I do? I yell at the screen and I curse and I cheer The only thing missing is someone to hear The putts that spun out will still swerve and not fall And field goals still miss by the width of the ball Three-pointers beat buzzers, as they did before Disputed third strikes are strikeouts evermore No one knows how long this pandemic may last Or how many months we’ll be stuck in the past Just biding our time until we’re all deranged Re-watching sports contests where nothing will change If I’m to be stuck here, by boredom beset I wish I could redress just one small regret The next time a virus hits, I won’t forget To make sure I have a full-wall TV set |
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thomas O. Davenport is an independent writer and business advisor living in San Francisco. He spent 32 years as a human resource consultant for a global consulting organization. He has written three business books and many serious articles and now writes sardonic verse, much of it commenting on business practices he observed (and helped create) and on social phenomena that amuse and bemuse him. In addition to Visas & Byways, his work has appeared in Defenestration, WORK Literary Magazine, Workers Write! and in the anthology Love Affairs at the Villa Nelle (Kelsay Books, 2019). You can also read his writings (verse and other) at www.worklodes.com.
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