Will You Sanction Me?

There is something beautiful in it
he said, the last legitimate and
sanctioned form of hand to hand
combat – where you can test
your skills and strength against
an opponent who likewise wants
to best you in the field of play.

I shook my head, the way he said
it made sense but it came from a
front row forward; there is evidence
they were the reason the Rugby game
got a bad name. Intelligence in a prop
would never rest easily on me, yet what
I heard suggested the difference.

When did you last play, I asked, noting
his girth – expecting he’d say many
years in the past. I still play he said,
I have an ambition to take the field
in every position a player can play,
to this day I need only to be hooker.
Will you sanction me?
© I.D. Carswell 2007-01-23