The Game
In Dressing Room 4
he shields brawn and bravado
laces up testosterone
tugs it tight around the ankles
steadies his manhood
for the colossal endeavor
he rehearses the play
eyeballs angles, then
tames the frozen glass
with blazing, furious strides,
lights the charge against the roaring crowd
with fury, with passion,
rushes boards blades slicing ice scraping to a climax
stopping
just in time
fathers convulse wildly
cowbells waving savage
scheming mothers screaming
he pretends not to notice
those who throb and titter
whose breath like tongues of smoke
waves longingly from lips
drawn pink and fresh
lips suddenly
still
he spins and floats away, victorious sweat
eyes stinging, turns his searing back
to girls who sit huddled, melting,
paying silent homage to Paggos,
God of Ice.
~ Carla Maj-Pfleger
Growing up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Carla Maj-Pfleger experienced the talents of acclaimed writers such as Anne Szumigalski and Glen Sorestad. She also had the privilege of taking a creative fiction class from Lorna Crozier at The University of Saskatchewan. After completing her M.A. in English at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON., in 1994, Carla was the Grand Prize winner of Poetry. com in 2000. This busy mother of three young boys is taking a break from teaching and writes with Poet’s Ink in St. Albert.
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