Mike Fowler
Olympic Event
A Bulgarian weightlifter
(heavyweight class)
lifted a new personal best
tonight.
I thought the bar
was going to fall on
his head,
as the veins in his
outstanding arms
seemed to crack through his skin
as if in a graphic
shock-horror movie.
But he held it up.
He held it up
and he shook,
and trembled,
stumbled forwards, nearly
buckling his legs,
steadied himself,
and,
on hearing the alarm,
threw the bar to the ground.
I remembered how stoic
and mechanical he had seemed earlier,
as he now jumped for joy
around the stage
(with those arms still raised)
in a display of honest satisfaction
that few others
could imitate.
I wanted him to hold the Gold,
rather than the Cuban
who lifted more without blinking,
but his straining was rewarded
with second place,
the silver medal,
and this poem.
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