My brother, steeped in religious study,
does not follow professional sports.
So, I kid him and tell him
the Super Bowl is a battle
between the Kansas City Octopi
and the Philadelphia Penguins.
He believes me, but only for a second.
We then riff on other made-up names:
The St. Louis Sturgeons,
The Boston Bottom-Feeders.
“You sense an aquatic theme?”
he says thinking of more monikers.
“How about the Chicago Cods,
and Toronto Tilapias,” he adds.
“I think we’ve exhausted an
ocean of possibilities,” I say.
We will see who wins –
the Eagles or the Chiefs.
It most definitely will not be
the Octopi or the Squid.
THE POETRY OF THE GAME