Halftime at an HBCU Football Game
I brought a white friend to an HBCU football game once.
After we watched the touchdowns and interceptions
And long runs that split the field and scores wide open,
It became halftime.
The air was all late October,
And the leaves were still in the process
Of being broken down into copper and fire,
And the sun was lowering its light.
He stood, eyes on the concession stand,
But I told him to sit back down,
His feet pressed against a pile of leaves beneath,
As the game hadn’t even started yet.
© Matthew Johnson
Matthew Johnson is author of four poetry collections, including Far from New York State and the forthcoming, Jackie Robinson’s Real Gone: Baseball Poems of New York. His work appears in Northern New England Review, Roanoke Review, and elsewhere. Recipient of several nominations, including the E.E. Cummings Poetry Prize, the Pushcart Prize, and the BoTN, he’s managing editor of The Portrait of New England and poetry editor of The Twin Bill. matthewjohnsonpoetry.com.
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