in the game of Pig (or Horse
for some) -- not the warmup,
but the real thing. She can make
the three-pointer, or the ridiculous,
off-court porch shot and every time,
the others hear her delicate Swish,
but her greatest weakness rests
in anything close, when strangely,
she always misses. One by one,
the neighbor boys shout, keeping
track, and the letters come to her,
and then she sees one small, red
face, and the truth is there, smack
in his squint, in his eyes, and the laugh,
and the loss, and the truth isn’t near
to what she ever, for one moment,
thought would happen and at first,
she kicks her own ankle bone, leaving
a scrape, because she believed in more
than what the driveway delivered,
but then the watchers begin to scatter,
until all that's left are two -- her,
and the tallest player from down
the block, the one who raises
his arms and says, You can make
the longest shot. Want to see my rock
collection?
C.A. MacConnell
P.S. Hope you like the poem. Got my work done for now. Going to the ballet today! Haven't done that in about twenty years. What a treat. So stoked. I hope I don't have to dress up. Uh oh.
for some) -- not the warmup,
but the real thing. She can make
the three-pointer, or the ridiculous,
off-court porch shot and every time,
the others hear her delicate Swish,
but her greatest weakness rests
in anything close, when strangely,
she always misses. One by one,
the neighbor boys shout, keeping
track, and the letters come to her,
and then she sees one small, red
face, and the truth is there, smack
in his squint, in his eyes, and the laugh,
and the loss, and the truth isn’t near
to what she ever, for one moment,
thought would happen and at first,
she kicks her own ankle bone, leaving
a scrape, because she believed in more
than what the driveway delivered,
but then the watchers begin to scatter,
until all that's left are two -- her,
and the tallest player from down
the block, the one who raises
his arms and says, You can make
the longest shot. Want to see my rock
collection?
C.A. MacConnell
P.S. Hope you like the poem. Got my work done for now. Going to the ballet today! Haven't done that in about twenty years. What a treat. So stoked. I hope I don't have to dress up. Uh oh.
