28 June 2026

By Philip Kuepper

Rowing, and soccer,
what wildly different
fields they play
to get played their sport,
soccer players exploding,
everywhere at once,
over a wide field,
rowers lined up,
in disciplined formation,
in the narrow field of a shell.
In soccer, the feet are used like hands,
in rowing, the hands like feet,
as they run the boat with the blades of oars.
And where water has give,
ground doesn’t. Fall on the ground,
and your bones feel the impact,
whereas water is a massage to the bones.
And consider the time allotted play,
the many race meets that would fit,
into one soccer match.
The goals, however, are the same,
to defend one’s position, and win,
however wild goes the ball,
however wild the waves.
Sport: Meant for fun.
How seriously such fun is taken,
taken to brawling on the field,
taken beyond exhaustion on the water,
teams, at war, in peaceful pursuits.
Ah, the paradoxes
by which we humans live.

(19 June 2026)