Tough Guy~

A muscle flexed and lengthened
from endless repetitions, his ambition
bulges beneath his sateen cotton shirt.

At the negotiating table, he interrupts
Hey, wanna see me make a fist?
hoping to change the conversation.

In photos, he poses like a jock
whose girlfriend is old-school—
likes a guy who knows he’s cool,

the kind of friend who smiles and denies
he ever forced anyone to do anything,
no matter what they say…

the bulked-up enforcer every team needs
in a big game to take out the opposition,
while the coach looks the other way.

Newslinks: Washington Post, CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC, LA Times
Soundlink: SoundCloud

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Poet with a Press Pass features original poems written by Anne McCrady in response to news stories and world events. The series is produced by InSpiritry. More about Anne and InSpiritry is at InSpiritry.com.