Pause

Reconnaissance
Scoping out my strategy
Formulating
Plans

Alignment
Target acquisition
All systems primed for
Go

Assessment
Tallying the fallout from my
Chosen act

Misdirection
Masking patterns that
Could betray my
Game

Reconnaissance, alignment, assessment, misdirection--what is left?
Ah! Rest. A precious chance to catch my breath

Preemptive Regrets

I will miss

The sweet smell of puppy paw that
Permeates my glove

The diagnostic calluses that mar my palm
My toe
My heel

The wicked sing of blade on blade that never fails to
Speed my heart

The patient layering of wire into groove
(However I complain)

The late nights, soaked and spent and
Faced with early dawn

The verbal sparring
Pitting Ivy eloquence against a stubborn ESL
And losing, every time

The casual camaraderie of odd lots
Misfits
Kindred souls

I struggle to accept that
All things pass away