Lind

eighth stanza

Photo by Dave Adamson on Unsplash

My friend J.B. was the type of kid who led
The way in sporting ways, and we often ventured
To practice plays on the playground or shop
For bubble gum at Wills Mercantile, the pavement
Between the school and the downtown crossroads
Dropping us there on the way to his house to glide
Into the living room to catch the latest NFL shot.
I thought of myself as the second best set of tires
Compared to J.B.’s sporty ones in chrome wheel well,
And yet on track and field day one fall
J.B. shocked me by asking me behind the school
To let him win the hundred yard dash. The days

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