Game 67

​CHI 118               BRK 102

Bojan Bogdanovic
Doesn’t look like a basketball player--
Except that’s exactly what he is.

So that’s exactly
What he looks like.

---

My very first
Halloween on Sixth Street.

People
Like lava--
Slow and
Thick and bright.

Flowing opposite.

South Side eastbound
North side west.

Separated by police
On horseback
And candy corn walls.

I moved with the current.

But ahead--
Carving through the throngs
Like a semi truck
On the wrong side of the road--
Five gigantic black guys.

Still a couple blocks off,
I could feel
I was in their trajectory.

And as much as I hate to admit it,
I was scared.

Hopefully of their size.

I’d guess the smallest
Was six foot five
Two-hundred and fifty pounds.

And the biggest--
The one leading the pack
Right through everyone
And right toward me--
Was damn near seven feet
And could have weighed anything.

It was clear a collision was coming.

Looking back
These guys must have been
UT’s defensive line or something.

But I was new to Austin--
From Chicago.

And I’ve been in
More than one fight
Over bumping into someone
While walking down the street,

So I was pretty sure
I was gonna get killed.

I tried to force my way over--
To avoid the impact--
But it was useless.

I braced myself
And tried to look hard.

Here is exactly what happened next:

The guy in front--
The really really big one--
Grabbed me by the shoulders
And lifted me off the ground
Like I was a child.

I was a two-hundred pound man.

Then he turned around
And carried me past his crew
And set me safely down.

He could been carrying a bag of groceries
For the effort it took.

I’m sorry
Little Brother.
He said with a smile.

And he turned and walked away.

And somehow
That giant stranger
Taught me something.

Something fundamental

Like shadows
Are just shadows.

Or that cars
Backfiring
Sometimes sound like
Gunshots.