We all lose 
the treasure
as we lose sight

of what stands out
as treasure
in the flat places

of Ohio, where
Wright had us
all watching

the old men
as they watched
the young men

& those rafted
dreams we all held
or dropped

dramatically on
& off the field,
our knees refusing

each generation’s
request. It wasn’t
even much

of a cheer. I didn’t 
know, we would all
so deeply consider

suicide by the time
we were forty.
Good lord, only

the silence cared
enough to follow us.
Our bodies, they

became bodies.