Hockey poem
HOCKEY I ache with tension gut to spine, The moment hushed, the anthem sung;
I stare at skates I sense are mine, the puck is dropped, the game begun.
I smell the ice, so hard and cold, I cleave the wind my visor breaks;
I cease all thought of growing old, I live the youth my skating makes.
I sense the net, and cut and lean, I swoop like hawk or eagle wild;
I spin, I leap, I have not been So strong, so quick, but as a child.
A distant din booms in my ears, my eyes delight at edges’ flash;
These sights and sounds unite my years: The goalpost’s ring, the bodies’ crash.
On knife-sharp blades I turn and glide from earth-bound cares apart;
A gasp of joy to fuel my stride, And freedom dancing in my heart.
©M.J. O’Grady January 28, 1990