Dodgeball
Jared Pearce
We scramble to the nest, clutch
a ball, and duck, weave, leap
from the dangers we can see.
There is no tingling inspiration
to snatch us out of the way,
no instinct, no time to dissect
our emotions like we do
for the church or the work
or the government; we have
only the danger and the want.
And when we’ve been tagged
it’s clear to all, and we sit on
the border, sweat down
the minutes left in the game.
Jared Pearce wrote Down Their Spears (Cyberwit, 2021) and The Annotated Murder of One (Aubade, 2018). Further, jaredpearcepoetry.weebly.com.