Tournament by Adam Chabot

He’s seven, wears glow-in-dark

sunglasses, and hurls a passionate,

lofty arc, the bean bag knuckling

on its flight finishing eight feet

short, a small slap off the warm

parking lot, each dirty, yellow bag

clumping like ice cream scoops

melting, a sum totaling zero points.

Today cost us twenty dollars, a wrinkled

Jackson we could have donated, so

we don’t shake hands; we bump fists

in front of try-hards sipping Poland

Spring at a brewery. Pierce the

Capri Sun with force, he’s earned it,

chew Cheez-its with an open mouth,

why not? Claim your victory: Kidz Bop

a little too loud on the drive home.

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Adam Chabot is the English Department Chair at Kents Hill School, a private, independent high school located in central Maine. He has work forthcoming or recently published in FEED, Moss Puppy Magazine, rough diamond poetry, The Daily Drunk, and Agapanthus Collective, among others. He can be found on Twitter @adam_chabot