Off the mark a
Pitter pat
Two steps forward
Staking claim to
Center court
A confident advance
Asserting precedence to
Set the pace to
Take the lead
Maybe pushing hard
Perhaps inviting, coyly
The attack
Only to fade back
Or simply teasing
Here and there and
Here and
Gone again
In any case
A good beginning
Presaging
Successful ends
Each time I step onto the strip
Another bit falls off
A tip, a spring, a screw
A clip
These at least I can address through armory
Tighten, fiddle, nudge
Swap out parts
Rewire blades
The biologic fails are less benign
A toenail, split, takes years to properly regrow
A tendon flexes just a bit too far
A muscle disconnects
I suppose the wonder is that
Decades on
So many of these parts
Still work
The only way to cope is to accept
Impermanence
Of blade, bone, wires and longevity
Meanwhile, I appreciate the
Blessing
That they work at all
In lessons…
Beauty
Small tight parry
Clean riposte
Point dead on
Distance always right
Try to port it to the strip and
All these moves are
Bigger, slower
Sloppy or awry
Too far too close too little or too much
Dragging one new thing across this chasm takes
Grim determination
A willingness to tank and flail and miss
Look foolish and inept
Time and time again until…
Once, it lands just right
Followed by another dozen failures
Then twice, and twice again until
Consistency
In practice bouts, at least…
A whole new fissure yawns between
the club and competition
A GPS to navigate this rift:
Bundle up your courage
Breathe deep and
Make a leap of faith
