ALEX FORMENTON
BRIDGE TOO FAR MAYBE THIS ONE
SOME FANS SAY ARE DONE
In Edmonton’s chill, where the faithful stand,
Calvin cheers loud with a firebrand.
From Gretzky’s grace to Messier’s might,
He’s lived and breathed each game night.
He knows the legends—Kurri, Fuhr, Coffey—
Their names like verses in hockey’s poetry.
Now it's Connor, blazing past the pack,
And Draisaitl keeping defenders back.
With Bouchard’s blast and Skinner’s saves,
Calvin stands tall through losses and waves.
The past and present fuel his pride—
The Oilers' fire, alive inside.
A fan for life, through highs and lows,
He bleeds orange and blue—everyone knows.
Scott W.
Hearts shattered
Open ice
Friendly smiles
Competitions vice
A tie, they say
A game well loved
How can we win
When peace is the ideal above
We slaughter them humanely
We butcher them halal
Oil don't do well on our coast
And Orca's don't do well there
Are we better at entertaining than winning?
Now there's an original thought
We'd better burey the Oilers
Otherwise we'll get caught
Ode To Wayne Gretzky
We all carry the same genes,
and look how different we turn out;
I honed my skills for playing hockey,
and look how far I’ve come.
***
Note:
Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1961. He played junior hockey in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, for the Soo Greyhounds, and in 1978, signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). That same year, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA, who joined the National Hockey League (NHL) when the WHA folded. While with the Edmonton Oilers, Wayne and his fellow teammates won four Stanley Cups. Wayne Gretzky, aka “The Great One,” went on to play for the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues and ended his hockey career with the New York Rangers in 1999 following his retirement.
Daddy, Are You Sleeping?
Long car rides, or late night movies.
Piggyback rides down our long hallway,
then, you to pour me into bed.
Daddy, are you sleeping?
Newspaper glued to a thin, stick frame.
I feel like the Wright Brothers
as we soar through the skies.
Daddy, are you awake?
Birthday surprises, educational lectures,
daily encouragement in every direction,
and only us two sharing weekend donuts.
Daddy, rise and shine.
You trust me with your tractor and truck.
Mom thinks I’m trying to kill her.
Thank you for bragging on us, saying how beautiful I am.
Daddy, are you up yet?
A favorite Saturday breakfast, then teasing laughter
‘cause you have the biggest stack. Your 5 o'clock shadow
grows as we watch the Astros, Oilers, Chief Wahoo McDaniel.
Daddy, it’s time to get up.
You glow pride of place when you deliver me to my dorm.
I hear words of advice as you and mom wave me off:
“Don’t forget you are here for books, and not for boys”.
Daddy are you awake?
I want to cover you with a blanket,
keep you warm and safe, as you do with us.
Mom places your wedding ring upon your starched white shirt.
Daddy….Daddy, please get up.
a vulgar morning
unveiling the naked fragrance of sun-burnt dog turds.
It came to me,
played tunes on the cords in my nostrils
until my left eye caught them hiding
by the roots of loblolly pines.
The poor trees, their trunks still wet where about two
bladders were emptied at daybreak.
The turds, seared like good scallops, made me think
of Bangor and Lewiston;
I saw a big woman beat two conches to make a salad.
I am no ordinary man;
twenty heads of cows made me think of a fleet of oilers & tankers.
I saw a Jew in a shtreimel,
I thought of Presque Isle where the sun stayed in my hair
except at night when the earth turned away.
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