Sunday, April 7, 2013

The Basketball by Amy Cotter


The Basketball

As you walk onto your favorite court
Echoes surround you of praise and support.
Home court advantage, championship game
All that’s at stake is the glory and fame.

The black and white striped men, powers at be
Taking one last stretch, then war they will see.
St. Madeline’s School, the opposing team
Ready their stink eyes, which ruffle your seams

“Final time out taken,” The refs inform
“Blue ball!” your team’s possession, go take form.
The ball is inbound, then it’s passed to you
You move swiftly in order to pursue
Only five seconds left in this quarter
You have a clear path, you can restore order.

Dribble, dribble, cross-over, bounce, bounce, shoot
Whistles blaring all around, “foul, 22!”
The greys and navys take their sports in line
While the coaches pace, pretend to feel fine

Nike’s strapped on tight, jersey tucked in, breathe
It’s just a painted line, but death it bequeaths.
A sign of the cross, Hail Mary’s for luck
Tuck in that elbow, pretend it’s stuck

Finally, the powers hand you the ball
You’re nervous but ready to take it all
A couple dribbles, exhale, position
The bend of the knees send them in motion
Everyone stares as it arches in flight
Silence, then “swoosh,” nothing but net in sight
The buzzer sounds, your teammates jump and scream
CYO champs, and it is not a dream.

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The Singing by C. K. Williams
I was walking home down a hill near our house
on a balmy afternoon
under the blossoms
Of the pear trees that go flamboyantly mad here
every spring with
their burgeoning forth

When a young man turned in from a corner singing
no it was more of
a cadenced shouting
Most of which I couldn't catch I thought because
the young man was
black speaking black

It didn't matter I could tell he was making his
song up which pleased
me he was nice-looking
Husky dressed in some style of big pants obviously
full of himself
hence his lyrical flowing over

We went along in the same direction then he noticed
me there almost
beside him and "Big"
He shouted-sang "Big" and I thought how droll
to have my height
incorporated in his song

So I smiled but the face of the young man showed nothing
he looked
in fact pointedly away
And his song changed "I'm not a nice person"
he chanted "I'm not
I'm not a nice person"

No menace was meant I gathered no particular threat
but he did want
to be certain I knew
That if my smile implied I conceived of anything like concord
between us I should forget it

That's all nothing else happened his song became
indecipherable to
me again he arrived
Where he was going a house where a girl in braids
waited for him on
the porch that was all

No one saw no one heard all the unasked and
unanswered questions
were left where they were
It occurred to me to sing back "I'm not a nice
person either" but I
couldn't come up with a tune

Besides I wouldn't have meant it nor he have believed
it both of us
knew just where we were
In the duet we composed the equation we made
the conventions to
which we were condemned

Sometimes it feels even when no one is there that
someone something
is watching and listening
Someone to rectify redo remake this time again though
no one saw nor
heard no one was there



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