I wake in a rush~
green, fuzzy, full of purpose
until a racket smacks me
into sudden enlightenment.
I sail, spinning,
seeing the world in fast-forward:
white lines blurring,
players grunting,
the sun cheering me on
like a loud, overexcited coach.
I hear everything~
the gasp when I clip the net,
the groan when I bounce out,
the triumphant whoop
when I land exactly
where someone wanted me.
I think a lot, actually~
mostly about momentum,
destiny,
and why humans argue
so passionately
over where I land.
But what I feel
is the court beneath me~
its clay, its grass, and grit~
a brief, grounding moment
before I’m launched again
into the bright, chaotic ballet
of being a ball
with no say
in where I’m going next.
Flying foxes hang replete from the tall trees
dripping in the morning sun. They have sucked
the flesh of mamey sapote, rambutan and mangosteens.
Their dog-like pelts are copper pendants
that seep a dawn drenched dew onto our heads.
The summit of Penang Hill is reserved for the rich
who live above the heat and hustle.
Cool nights favor a fragrant adulatory.
Jia Liu has an 'Uncle' that is not related to her.
When he is away she takes me to the villa
as a tennis partner, and sometimes lover.
After the game we stroll under the bat dribble.
“It’s good for your hair,” she says laughing,
running ahead. I call after her:
“Where do they go in the heat of the day?”
“To the fruit markets in George Town,
“they hang from the rafters.”
Last night I was with her again - a dream.
We were drinking amrita of guava,
our lips smeared with a sweet red thirst.
Scots golfers do not 'golf'
as they say in the U.S.A.
invented in Scotland
it's as they ought
a sport the Scottish play
the first tennis player
known by name
(Louis X)
did not 'tennis'
when he played the game
even so I may one day
bend my elbow
consider the racket
and give it a go
looks like the language
is slowly downward drifting
and come this Christmas
you won't see me 'gifting'
when did a noun become a verb
misconjugated by ignorant clowns
as English is oft Yanked and twisted
by illiterate dimwits verbing nouns
I do enjoy verbal tennis
wordplay may be a game
outwit outsmart the opponent
is the only aim
lobbing phrases across the net
volley and rally back and forth
no one's a loser and yet
those precious few
who think on their feet
will always win have you beat
Shakespeare is the all-time champ
merely a player with poem and sonnet
through thick and thin he'd go for a spin
and put some English on it
it's fun for all with no balls or calls
and if your serve is up to scratch
unless words fail
at the thought you quail
it's word game set and match
there was a young man from Ennis
who desired to learn to play tennis
the ball whacked him in the head
so he decided to go to a pub instead
and have fun drinkin’ the Guiness
Tennis Racket
My old tennis racket loves to
be called
Doctor Racquet and
affects
medical uniforms.
She ping
She pong
Digging both sides
With concentration
With hand slamming
Calculated precision
Eyes rolling pinning
The striking win
Over this green
Rectangular board.
The thing
about rhyme
is you can’t help
but read it
The glue
in the verbiage
whose tonic
is needed
Uniting
each line
with the magic
of sound
Melding the
moment
as phrases
— surround
(Dreamsleep: September, 2024) O/L 9-23-2024
... Famous Quote By Robert Frost
Panda took a bite of the new bamboo
It was fresh and green, but there was a goo
What kind of crud is this? He asked sky of blue
Sky laughed at his consternation, wouldn’t you?
“This new bamboo is as tasty as a tennis shoe!”
He was joined by two cousins, Little Lee and Lu.
They crunched down onto the new green bamboo
This tastes horribly gummy like wallpaper glue!
Hey! Come here! They yelled to Aunt Booby Boo.
She ran right over and said “quit kidding, you!”
Why are you eating the prop put out here by Sue?
Tearing it apart, and eating out the glue?
This irritated Panda, Little Lee and unlovely Lu.
They growled and groused the entire day through.
How did we not see it was plastic? Asked Lu from the dew.
They had no answers, the other cousins, two.
'Ping-Pong' is wrong
'Peng' confided
If 'Ping' is lopsided
then 'Pong' is misguided
'Prong' decided
He was birth to menace;
Now he plays table tennis;
...socially spaced-
9/14/23
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2023©
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A Visually Impaired Player - just like me,
No matter how your sight loss occurred,
Your vision black, incomplete, or blurred,
With adapted rules and cool soundball,
It’s a great sport - designed to suit all,
Don’t question your abilities, or be shy,
Just join in the fun and give it a try ...
Some girls’ eyes were fastened on Dennis
Doing wonderful Tennis
In boxers poorly screening ,
Much to the dismay of his First Niece,
His sometimes-raging, Girlfriend Eunice,
A Christian Mother he’d rendered service
But not to Arch Enemy Elvis
With him competing in their office…
“For long have I been expecting this
From a man who’d named me Novice”
I've just spoken with Polycarp
About his bright red baseball cap
I'd swear is his main handicap:
His wish to keep wearing the cap
While to Tennis Ball he is Pap
And equally does football 'tap';
His donning of a baseball cap
A conflict and misguiding map
You rely on and your strength sap,
Because of the capital gap
Between him and a baseball cap...
Game he'd lose to to who's had a nap
Or just finished singing a rap
And with avid fans had a snap...
The whole wished drama a self trap
For tennis games not receive call,
Among footballers not grow tall.
I love being bouncy, being green, being fun!
I jump and I hop, and I dance all around.
Being chased by children from two to a hundred and one.
I am the happiest tennis ball, easily found.
I have a sweet squeak when I hit the concrete.
There are squeals of laughter as I am being chased.
A dog has me in her mouth, so I give a quick squeak.
Hoping she will spare me, giving a lot of grace.
I am bouncing now, and excited. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
I am enthusiastic about being me in rain, wind, black ice and snow.
I would like a little drink of water, but I do not whine or flounce.
This is the best life I have ever had, for sure. I love it so!
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