by Ernie McCray
There is so much around us
that can lift our spirits,
a song,
a poem,
a loving gesture,
a bright smile on
a handsome face
like the one of gratitude
on Eric Allen’s
as he received the news
that he had made the NFL Hall of Fame,
one that filled me with gladness
in the midst of the madness,
the chaos
of our times,
one that took me back to
when Earl, Eric’s dad,
a childhood friend of mine,
and one of the greatest all-around athletes
I’ve ever known,
and I were
developing our athletic skills
on Tucson’s playgrounds,
his much superior to mine
as he ran and caught a football
better than anybody in town
and could hit a baseball a ton
and steal a base in a second,
and play basketball with anyone.
It was all fun
and who knew
that his athletic excellence
would be passed on via some gene
to a son in another generation
who would achieve
a level of acclaim
we couldn’t have dreamed of
in a world where we were seen as
less than.
Oh, but we’ve come a long way
since those days
of yore,
over 70 years ago,
and the honor Eric
has won
shows that change for the better grows
overtime.
And the smile on his face
as he takes his place
under the sun
as a football legend
reminds me that
hope, in our world,
must be kept alive.
Meanwhile,
I’ll just bask
in the warmth
of that smile.
