Just for fun, here’s an ekphrastic poem inspired by a photo my friend Ed Ackerson posted to Instagram the other day. The photo seemed to urgently want to tell a story so I had to make one up around it.

The Rainbow-Colored Gorilla Plays Foosball

We were down 10 points when
boom! The rainbow-colored gorilla
sat down on the foosball table. Maybe

he was wound up after the pride
parade. Or maybe he was just angry.
Oooo oooo oooo, was all he said,

but that’s all he ever said. We had
to abandon the game after that
due to the smell and carry the table,

gorilla and all, out to the alley behind
the house. He didn’t budge, and soon the
weeds grew up around him. To this day,

he patrols the penalty arc, rain or shine.
Best goalie I’ve seen in Uptown in years, one neighbor said.
Greatest of all time! Insists another.