All Night Racing Radio
by GD Anderson
In the sweet silent rapture of sleep
I awake suddenly
& sit & wait
& listen to the high-pitched buzz of electricity
& soon it all comes back-
the messy divorce
access difficulties
who gets the dog
that dull ache in my lower right gut
Headphones on. I can’t sleep
I tune into 2KY- the All Night Racing Station
I love the simple formalities leading up to each race-
the state of the track, the scratchings,
the assessment of the card- the favourites, the long shots
I love the names of the thoroughbreds-
Verbalise, Cheap As, Corporate King, Bush Pig, Agnostic,
Sob Story, Ancient Sunlight, Two Shades of Blue…
I love the detached clipped cadence of the announcers
from all over the nation
as they call the race from its origins
to the jockeying for positions,
to the rising hysterical chants as the wild beasts head down the straight-
And as I listen to the call
I focus on the sounds of the words
& the uplifting barking tone of the race commenter
It’s like being in a church-
& as the race unravels itself
I imagine a priest is conducting a service
& in the rising and fall of his melodious voice
I am being absolved of all of my sins
over & over again with each race
I awake much later in the night
the radio still whispering in my ears
reverently revealing to me
the placings & confirmed weights
& dividends to come