Best wishes

I want for you 

The best 

of health 

The palimpsest of injury wiped clean 

Humors balanced 

Wind sound 

Internal leys of energy aligned 

of spirit 

Hooks of doubt untangled from the mind 

Cessation and acceptance 

Inner peace 

Whatever faith might ground you in this world 

of life 

Success in your endeavors 

Fulfilling work 

An amplitude of joy 

A minimum of idiots who drag you down 

and for your blade 

A swift and sure attack 

Impermeable parry 

Wicked riposte 

Against all opponents, 

And yet (forgive me), when we step on to the piste 

I want to 

Crumple your defense 

Spike your attack 

Confound your strategy and 

Drive my offense home 

Afterwards, 

Outcome aside 

We hug 

Ok? 

And resume our sincere and mutual regard

Some Nights

Everything feels 

Just a little off 

My glove’s too tight 

Your shoes have an annoying squeak 

Sweat trickles down my neck 

My shoulders itch 

When the parry’s firm, the riposte flails 

My attack may open up a door and yet 

I miss and run into the wall 

Of your defense 

Even the best finish lands a 

Quarter inch from the lame 

Or sliding underneath 

Nights like this 

Victory’s no longer parsed in 

Bouts, but in a measure of 

Compassion for 

Myself 

Forgiveness for my 

Imperfections 

Patience for my flaws 

The hardest practice yet: 

Extending to myself the kindness 

That I offer others without thought

A Touch

Can be an accident a 

Fluke of fate a 

Side effect of 

Flailing blade 

A cheap and easy shot 

A crutch 

A sleazy shot that 

Almost shouldn’t count 

(Almost) 

A fertile seed containing 

Replicable DNA 

A template for 

Future success 

A victory a 

Trusted tool, the 

Hard-won culmination of

A patient plan 

A jolt of serotonin that will 

Keep me coming back 

Even when it lands

Just one time out of ten