Losing the Match
From his recliner, my stepfather
asks my daughter
if she watches professional wrestling
My daughter answers with disdain
“Of course not—
wrestling is stupid
and so fake!”
On the tv
two men in tall laced boots
and spandex underwear
grab for each other’s heads
The one they call The Undertaker roars
“I’m the master! Obey me or rest in peace!”
My mom shouts from the kitchen
“Your mom used to love to watch wrestling,”
which brings a look of disgust from my daughter
“Its true,” I say
“I even got in a fight one time
with a neighbor boy
who made fun of me for believing”
But as I look now
at the chaos on the screen
listen to the crazy crowd boo
the wrestler in the phantom mask
it dawns on me that maybe
what I really believed in
was my dad
He and I sat on our flowered couch
and watched wrestling together
while my mom cooked
spam and eggs
We especially loved the tag team
Chief Jay Strongbow and Sonny King
with their tomahawk chop and celebratory
war dance
Professor Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji
beat them once, but only because
Mr. Fuji threw salt in their eyes
My dad said
sometimes people fight dirty
you have to know how
to defend yourself
He taught me to make a fist
with my thumb on the outside
demonstrated a proper pile driver
and explained the key
to tag team wrestling—
knowing when and how to maneuver
your way back to your partner
on the other side of the ropes
so you can tag him
and he can come in
to take out the guy who’s locked you
in a sleeper hold
The last day I saw my dad
he struggled to carry
a 12-pack from his car
his mountainous biceps withered to hills
Two months later
he was dead
because I was not there
for him to tag
or throw salt in the eyes of his opponent
when Death came with a body slam
and put a sleeper hold on him
The neighbors in my dad’s trailer park cheered
at the chance to take his tools and belt
before the EMTs could enter
find my dad’s legs sticking out the bathroom door
feet pointed at the ceiling
and count him out
Elisabeth Harrahy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater, where she teaches courses in ecology and conducts research on the effects of contaminants on aquatic ecosystems. In her spare time, she likes to drive her 1967 Plymouth Satellite muscle car, and write poems and short stories. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Phoebe: Journal of Gender and Cultural Critiques, Wisconsin People and Ideas, Bramble, Sky Island Journal,Gyroscope Review, Blue Heron Review, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, and Boston Literary Magazine.