by Michael Ceraolo
The playing surface had always affected
how the game was played,
.                                      from
the first lumpy unkempt pasture-like fields
to the later beautifully manicured fields
to the pretend grass that was popular
in the late second/early third millennium
Rule changes after that period
mandated only natural grass
even indoors in the new domes,
.                                         something
possible because of the new breeds
that thrived even indoors with artificial light
Such fields,
.            without chemicals added,
were able to be maintained at a high level
to provide true bounces on every ball,
and,
.    for player safety,
gone were the two monstrosities:
.                                                     one
a thing piece of carpet over cement,
.                                                    which
damaged players’ knees and backs and sometimes
caused broken bones after dives;
.                                                   and
the soft fake turf made of ground-up tires,
.                                                      which
led to a cancer epidemic
from the many trapped chemicals
The game still had its risks,
.                                        but
later-in-life damage from the playing surface
was no longer one of them
Michael Ceraolo, a retired firefighter/paramedic, follows sports and writes poetry, mainly about the Cleveland area. This poem first appeared in Ygdrasil, Vol. XXIII, Issue 8, Number 268.