Your Court

Your Court
By: James Dubeau

Little green ball
Tossed from my hand
Reaching high
For the sky
Before plummeting back
Thwack
My racket sings
Through the air
Impacting upon
The fuzzy orb
Sending it hurtling
Away from me
With all my pent up
Rage
Hopes
Fears
Thoughts
Dreams
Into the hard realities
Of wooden walls
Thump
Rebounding now
The little planetoid
Returns to me
What that I had
Sent away
Thwack
Goes my racket again
Doubling my force
Doubling my effort
Thump
The ball returns
With heated fervor
Thwack
Thump
Thwack
Thump
Swish
Racket swings wide
Letting the ball
Get away
From me
From my racket
From my repeated bashing
But now I am ready
To get underway
With a grin
I pickup the ball
And flick it
Across the net
Are you ready?

The Game

The Game
By: James Dubeau

The game
Is full of rules
Laws
Regulations
Codes of conduct
Written or unwritten
Thick handbooks to read
Digest
Learn
Backwards and forwards
Knowledge is key
What to do
And when
What is legal
What will reward the penalty box
Is it worth the time
Effort
Sacrifice
To learn these rules
For the game
Which we all live

In The Game

“Run! Run! Run!” The woman shouted as the six year old cleared the bases. Two other kids rushed for the ground ball at the same time, racing each other to be the first to grab the errant ball. The catcher ripped off his mask and shouted for the ball to be thrown home. The parents, sitting in lawn chairs around the field, were cheering the kids on. It didn’t matter to any of them that the rules were not enforced in this game. No matter what happened, the little boy will be safe, he will make it home.

“Our man,” a man said as he leaned over in his lawn chair to talk into her ear as quietly as he dared. “Our man is held in their custody. Intel suggests that a 12 man team should be able to extract him.”

“Should? I can’t make decisions that go against policy based upon shoulds and coulds!” She still watched the game but her whispered tones towards the man had become harsh.

“Look, we need to get him out. The team is ready to go, they are on stand by. Just give the word and we will get him out.”

She turned to look directly at him and hissed, “I need to know that your team can do this.”

“They are the best, ma’am.”

“You better not fail or else there will be dire consequences from the top. Get him out and keep us in the game.”

“Yes ma’am!”