That Championship Year

Youth becomes more and more a memory
as steps become slow and hair becomes gray.
Their year of triumph fades deeper into history
so they reunite now to remember yesterday.
 
When they were young men on that magical team
believing in one another as they made that run
through the maze of Goliaths until they lived the dream
of raising the trophy and showing they were number one.
 
Those days are gone now but memories remain
forever part of something special and unique
and it’s those memories of the season and the final game
that will always link them even as their numbers deplete.
 
Because even death will never dim their cheer
of being part of that championship year.

Recognize

The child
is not here
 
and the adult
wishes people could
 
see that, recognize
him standing alone,
 
no longer at the hip of
his parents.  They
 
developed his foundation
but the rest of him, that’s
 
of his own doing, of
hard work and imagination,
 
creative energies used to
assemble his uniqueness
 
He hopes the people
can see him as he is,
 
but too often they still
call for the child.

Something New From Me: Talking Sports

I've been dabbling with writing about sports lately.  I've been posting articles on a website called Man Cave Podcast.

http://themancavepodcast.com/

It's been fun doing something that I don't normally do about a subject that I love a lot: sports.  Just check out the Articles section of the site and you'll see some of the things I've posted.

Last night I was the feature interview of the podcast.  We talked about the NCAA tournament and what had transpired thus far.  The entire podcast can be found below.  I come in around the :30 mark.

http://themancavepodcast.com/man-cave-bracketogoly-podcast-the-man-cave/

The Diligent Worker

No one cares that he is upset,
feeling alone and helpless
all the while following orders
just like he should.  He is
 
reliant and responsible, but
hurts underneath his smile,
feeling left out and taken
for granted as he continues
 
his diligence as prodigal
people appear in the distance,
rewarded for showing up
after dwelling in the so-called
 
darkness.  They are greeted
with a hero’s welcome and
attentive ears to hear their
story of redemption.  But
 
what of the steady one,
he of promptness and hard work?
There are no celebrations,
only more work to do.  He
 
wants to vent his frustrations
and did so a time before, but
his cries were ignored.  In fact
all he got was a brief lecture
 
about how the universe
would collapse if he wanted more
than the lot that he occupied.
That is not what he wanted to hear,
 
his essence begging for some sort
of recognition, of praise, of something
to let him know he is appreciated.
But this never came and he
 
now sits alone in his work space
wondering if anyone gives a damn
or does all of the good cheer around
is headed for someone else.