At Estadio Azteca, 2026
A Mexican kisses an Englishman
and blur so utterly under stadium light
that I can only pick them out
by the football kits
they so desperately wish
were a puddle on the ground.
Jogo Bonito is what Brazilians call
this fluid philosophy of lips and tongue.
Even the stewards, typically dead-set
on splitting supporters
across imaginary borders, are still
watching green and white blend
long after the match is done.
*
Joseph Verhelle is a poet and educator from Rochester Hills, Michigan. His work appears or is forthcoming in Heavy Feather Review, Pine Hills Review, HAD, and The Twin Bill. He was selected for season 22 of the AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program in 2025.
From The Archives: Published on This Day
- Peony by Donna Hilbert (2025)
- Two Poems by Gloria Heffernan (2025)
- Alone in the ER by Rob Greene (2024)
- Two Poems by Gary Fincke (2024)
- Five Poems by KHD (2023)
