tony romo vs. the giants defense

i could see it
where the pain lanced up his spine
and he thought
"these quarterback pads are —"
but then he tried to get up
and he stopped thinking.

he was lying on the ground
when he saw a pair of cleats
(red or white, it didn't matter)
and he needed someone right then,
who would take him by his shoulders
and drag him from where he lay

wincing at his fingertips
and his profession
and he shook it off when he got up.
i saw that.
but later on
(the cameras didn't show us this immediately)

there were several people wondering
if he was okay and he (unaware of the cameras)
reared his head back, in a magnificent grimace,
because all those other guys are
depending on him to hold them together,
but he is stuck all twisted up

and it came back to haunt him,
later on,
when he was dragged down,
beaten down, thrown down,
in a field of blue,
watching every single thing in the world

slip from his fingers
and fall beneath their bodies,
and he was so slow getting up.
(he needed someone again
whose wrist he could grasp tight)
and he was so slow getting up.

he won the game.
the announcer said something about a contusion.
he is twenty-eight years old.
ten years from now, when he thinks back
on the systematic and thorough destruction of his body,
he will wonder if it was worth it.