Category: Poems

Hey there! It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve posted, doesn’t it? It looks like the WordPress app on my phone hasn’t actually been posting the things I’ve been trying to post for the past few weeks. So, be prepared for a stream of new (um… old) posts!

This poem is from a basketball tournament I attended two weeks ago, but it still applies.

Sweat drips down my neck

I inhale deeply, my eyes forward

My feet and sides ache

My legs feel like jelly

But for a moment

As the girl bounces the ball at the free throw line

I appreciate the beauty

Of the sport I call my own

I’m so lucky to play

This vibrant, energetic, exhausting, exhilarating game

Called basketball

Hey there! It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve posted, doesn’t it? It looks like the WordPress app on my phone hasn’t actually been posting the things I’ve been trying to post for the past few weeks. So, be prepared for a stream of new (um… old) posts!

This poem is from last week when I went for a boat ride in Myrtle Beach, SC.

On the water

the breeze prickles my face

and fills my nose

with the scents of the sea

On the water

I look out

And watch as towers of green

Overlook the delicate blue

On the water

Murky gloom along the side

Is home to unseen alligators

On the water

The glow of sunlight

Warms my toes

And my soul

On the water

I feel the wind and sun

I see the picturesque clouds above

On the water

I am in love

I am in my element

I am content

I am free

Looking down

At little square blocks

Lined with little square houses

Entangled with winding roads

Circular patches of electric blue

That are really just swimming pools

Tiny cars

Like ants

Move swiftly

And I think

How very small

The invisible drivers

Must be

How very small

Charging down the empty court

Ball in hand, no one around

Striding forward

Feeling the air against his pink face

So close

Just one dribble

One dribble more

One dribble

One dribble

Too hard

Bounces

Too high

And wanders away

Off into out-of-bounds land

And the crowd,

As one,

Groans louder than a roaring lion

As the ball rolls farther away

From the wide open floor

Laughter fills the cold fall air
As my dog trots in front of me,
Fur shining golden in the warm light
And my family wanders alongside me
Toward home sweet home

The bouncing ball echoes across the gym
Like music to my ears
The swish of the net
And soft vibrations of the backboard
Compose a symphony
Unlike any other

I dive into a new world
As I turn the well-worn pages
Of my favorite adventure

I am thankful for
The world of books
The art of basketball
I am thankful for
My family
My friends

And I’m definitely thankful
For the lights
The tree
The decorations
And the presents
That mark
The start of
The most wonderful time of the year

How many of these lights
Belong to people that I’ve met?
People whose paths
Have crossed with mine

How many of these lights
Belong to little children?
Children who are afraid
Of the dark

How many of these lights
Aren’t supposed to be on?
Someone staying up late
Someone sneaking in early

How many of these lights
Will burn out?
Be tossed out
Before I die

How many of these lights
Will stay aglow?
How many will live longer
Than me?

How many of these lights
Belong to truly good people?
People with love and kindness
In their hearts?

How many of these lights
Belong to truly bad people?
Criminals, kidnappers,
And burglars?

How many of these lights
Belong to people
Who have made
Mistakes?

How many of these lights
Belong to people
Who have been mistreated,
Misjudged, or misunderstood?

I only have answers
To the final two questions
And the answer
Is all of them

Spider web across the sky

Flickering, flashing

Weaving, tangling

Creeping across the inky black sea 

Unfurling over the dark clouds

Strikingly bright

Blindingly brilliant

Lightning strike