He would doze off watching Jeopardy
swore days were shorter in summer
swore the snowman was a devil taking
a bite from a carrot, replacing the apple
and this winter was the coldest ever when
the thermometer never dipped below zero.
He called the thermometer a dipstick like
that belonging to his Olds with less mileage.

Awake before dawn he’d ask for scrambled
eggs from a mouthful of scrambled words
emphasizing the lack of seasoning with
bountiful expletives, then fell asleep before
the morning mug of coffee was emptied.

One night, startled by his own snoring
and loud TV, he howled, I got this one …
What is a Hail Mary?
1972, thirty seconds remain in the game.
Bradshaw goes to the air deflecting off
an opponent into the arms of Franco Harris
crossing the goal line into the end zone . . .
then closes his eyes with a smile.

Robert Savino, Suffolk County Poet Laureate 2015-2017, is a native Long Island poet, Board Member at the Walt Whitman Birthplace and winner of the 2008 Oberon Poetry Prize. Robert is the co-editor of a 2-volume bilingual collection of New York Italian Americans Poets (No Distance Between Us). His books include fireballs of an illuminated scarecrow and Inside a Turtle Shell.