("Third place" in the sense coined by sociologist Ray Oldenberg to refer to spaces--not work, not home--where we connect with others, known and unknown, bond over shared interests and forge community.)
Lending patient sympathy to woes of
Injury
Indignities of age
(youth and geezerhood—each have their
tribulations)
Helping to untangle cords,
Straighten a blade
Test a bad connection
Lend a pair of socks
Finding one good thing
To compliment
Amongst the countless blunders
In our bout
Overlooking flares of peevishness
Respecting fallibility, recognizing it as
Common currency
Of practice
This is what we do, each of us for each
As clubmates, teammates, sometimes even friends
People find their families where they can
Chance-met assemblages of
Common cause
At home, at work, at play
The ferrous kinship of the blade,
Formed in the salle, is strangest yet
But forged in kindness
Even-tempered,
strong, forgiving of our flaws
