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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

10 Again

the sun broke through
the clouds 'round noon.
raising the temperature up
to a cool, yet mild, 52 degrees.

my first instinct 
was to reach into the change jar,
count up my dimes & nickels,
then go buy a forty of Olde English
and contemplate life by the railroad tracks.

somehow i managed 
to bypass that exit
turning instead to my basketball.
with a loping stride                                                     thump, thump
i made my way to the apt. complex court.

in a very regimented manner,
i played "around the world" with myself.
concentrating on form,                                                thump, thump, thump
and studying the dirt-stained backboard,
i aimed for the imaginary red square.

a little kid, not much older than six
worked the court, back and forth                 thump, thump
shooting at the rim, dodging defenders
in his mind. i would pause when he entered
my side of the court. his face was stern.

                                                                            thump, thump.... thump
concentration ebbed out of his head.
for each shot i missed, i made myself
return to the previous spot until i made it
all the way through the rotation.
from spot #1 (bank shot off the backboard from right side of the rim)
to spot #9 (top of the key).
i felt better after awhile.                              thump, thump
i felt like i was 10 again.


                                     ba-donk.