Awakening

[peter6]

I was the youngest of the players,
content to give others the stage.
But in the waning days of summer,
the afternoon sun
painting long shadows
on the bustling playground,
there came a moment
when I reached for the ball,
stopped, gathered,
and rose like some god
above the asphalt
glittering with diamonds of broken glass,
high above the outstretched hand
of my defender,
the thunderous traffic,
the cloud of my father’s anger,
and the chaos that was my life.
Like a dark fish
single-mindedly tracking
a dragonfly scuttling low
over a silent pond,
breaking the surface,
finding itself exposed,
to a world of brilliant colors
exploding in the sun;
my body playing out some inner wisdom,
knowing it was my time;
alone with the bent metal rim;
its infinite circle beckoning,
offering a brief moment of clarity,
the world below stone silent,
the shot found its home,
the chain net jangled to life.

Revision 4 -


Here is the Original Version

Awakening

That summer,
I awoke early each day,
ran to the asphalt courts,
with my leather basketball,
and stayed there till dark.

We played one on one,
and two on two,
until late in the day
when the real players,
the ones who’d traded their chances
to play college ball in tiny upstate towns,
and far away junior colleges,
arrived in pimped out cars,
speakers blaring,
deep bass picking up the beat
of games already underway.

I was the youngest,
content to give them the stage;
but in the waning days of the long summer,
as the scorching sun dropped
in the afternoon sky,
there came a moment
when I stopped, gathered,
and rose like some god,
high above the outstretched hand
of my defender,
above the asphalt
glittering with diamonds of broken glass,
and the lost dreams of the others,
and the shouts coming from
the surrounding courts,
and the sounds of traffic,
and the cloud of my father’s anger,
and the chaos that was my life;
like a dark fish
single mindedly tracking
a dragonfly scuttling low
over a silent pond,
breaking from the water,
surprised to find itself exposed,
in a new world
brilliant colors exploding in sun,
my body playing out some inner wisdom,
knowing it was my time;
and there I was,
above it all,
alone with the bent metal rim;
a brief moment of clarity,
the world below, distant.

I released the worn ball,
and dropped back to earth,
surprised at what I had done.

The chain net jangled as the shot found its way home,
and the sweaty, shirtless,
black kid covering me,
turned away, and cursed under his breath.