All the Thoughts at a Football Game by Jaun Felipe Herrera (2015)

There are baby thoughts 


in the shape of seaweed & pirate knives


they float over strips of shores &

a laboring red papaya truck awaits

curl into a rainy parasol where

Melanie Lippman—she’s back
& there are the thoughts of Staff Sergeant


from Afghanistan & cheers as a 

notices distant jagged

rhomboid ball burns

through the flags of space—

but she



there are the thoughts of a father 
zones on fire where the Company battles &


Don Jose Emiliano in plaid


how his fury tumbles &
with water on his face—his only son

on the wet field

for the first time—he is a man now


finds a route


my son he says.
to launch & spin his body 

toward a shifting goal—is that

Source: Poets.org

Analysis

I chose this poem because I love the message it is trying to give to the readers. At first read, one may not be sure what the poem is trying to say. It describes three different types of people at a football stadium, watching a game. It suddenly ends. After several reads, one can see the deeper message behind these words. This message is telling the reader that anyone, from any background, can experience the true beauty of football. In my opinion, this is true of any sport. The love of the game is a passion that can be experienced no matter your age, gender, or race. However, each person may enjoy a different aspect of the game. For example, the veteran enjoyed the game, itself—the ball floating through the air. However, she was also very focused on the brute force inflicted by the players. The father, on the other hand, just loves watching his only son play the game. He can't believe it is really happening. The final line of the poem, "is that my son he says", really made the hair on my arm stick up as I felt the real emotion this author put into the poem.  

The atmosphere of the poem was one of excitement—as the three observers enjoyed themselves at the game. The author uses juxtaposition when describing the veteran at the game to really set the theme of this poem. One is able to see that even someone who has endured such horror can enjoy his/herself at a football game. The tone of the poem is enjoyment as one can feel himself at the game with his own perspective on what he is observing. Overall, the poem wants the reader to know that anyone can enjoy observing a sport in his/her own way.