Ode for Rasmus Dahlin

Your slap shot is anthrax. 
Your passes are filthy.
Your skating is swift and fluid. 
Sabres fans say your name 
as if in prayer—
even on days when rare 
astronomical events take place, 
like earlier today, 
when the moon was a puck 
that covered the sun 
for almost four minutes 
in the Buffalo sky. Then 
it glided across Earth’s shadow,
like a spectacular one-timer
that only you can fire.
People clapped, whistled, 
and shouted in delight, 
as if to greet a new night.

Joey Nicoletti is the author of ten poetry collections, most recently, Breakaway (Broadstone Books, 2023) and Extinction Wednesday: A Memoir (Bordighera Press, 2024). Joey is also the Reviews Editor of Voices in Italian Americana (VIA) and teaches creative writing at Buffalo State University. Connect with him on Insta @joeynicoletti.