(A grouchy old man’s take on The Playoffs.)

something bad is going to happen

you can see it in the players’ faces

some kind of dirty fix

lines of people turned away

on account of rain

on account of some fuck-up

one bad call is all it takes

and the whole country goes to shit

while the world watches

our fucking national pastime

turned into a farce

for the sake of a freak show

well throw one at their heads for me

tag the bastards in the crotch

and clear the benches

used to be you could enjoy the game

before they got so greedy

now they’re all millionaires

just to do what I can do

with my little kid on a Sunday

on his new computer

so fuck ’em all to hell

I’m not even gonna watch anymore

not until they go back to playing it right

Peter Buknatski

Montpelier, Vt.