Knockout by Matt Galletta

The crowd is yelling
for you to get up.

There is still time.

You can turn this round around.

Their voices, though,
are all just a hum
lulling you to sleep.

The canvas of the mat is hard,
and it chafes against your skin,
but at least it is cool
and still.

The referee’s count
sounds like
a clock ticking,
a bell tolling,
a faucet dripping
in a bathtub
that is slowly
filling
to the brim.

Matt Galletta lives in upstate New York. A collection of his poems, The Ship Is Sinking, is available from Epic Rites Press. Find out more at www.mattgalletta.com