despair made me remember
his moment of terror
freezing cold, as he was
no coat, no sweater
no meat on his bones
bruised, in panic
wanting his friend,
the ball he had carried
wanting to run to it
but already lined up
waiting, compliant
to return to the classroom
not wanting to break any
rules
(for there had been
consequences when he
had broken other rules)
but secretly watching
left, discarded, gathered by
the wind
finding a place, resting,
in the lee of the storage
shed
just a few feet away from us
but too far to run to it,
we both had our places, our
roles to play
not able to run to gather it
in
needing to walk away, to get
out of the cold
a multicolored ball, an old
friend
the ball he had taken
outside
before the day took its turn
his slight body now buffeted
by the wind, the switchbacks
by falling on the granite
dust
navigating the thin wood
the place beyond the fields
where he and the other
played
now he was captured, by the clock,
by convention,
standing in line, shivering
in the cold
the too-thin, threadbare
t-shirt
not nearly enough, the open
sweatshirt
his body shuddering, waiting
for the bell to ring, but
what of the ball
that lost but not forgotten
but really not that far
away, tantalizing,
outside the bounds of his
grasp
wanting to be free,
unfettered
breaking the rules to run to
get it
out of the question, absurd
another to retrieve it, to
gather it in,
like a basketball, in shape,
but colors of summer, once
bright,
now faded on the ground
====
edited October 29, 2014
The multicolored ball – v6
(editing version 4)
Edited September 24, 2013
“The multicolored ball – v5”
Edited September 21, 2013
“The multicolored ball – v4”
(editing version 2)
edited
April 8, 2013
“the
multicolored ball – v3”
April 7, 2013
“The multicolored ball – v2”
April 6, 2013
“The multicolored ball”
Deerfield Community School
April 3, 2013
All of my
poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. All rights reserved.
Contact me at
Ray Foss
for usage. See all 33,140+ of my poems at
www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
