Safe Place: A Basketball Poem

Safe Place
by Nygilia McClain


Same sun with endless heat
Giving birth to freedom, singing while dreaming
Finding your call at countdown's door
Fadeaway reminders of where you were born

Time reflects upon glistening trophies
Every drop of sweat brought a smile
Every loss brought exploding stars
Black holes sleep under our pillows at night
But, we should say why not me? why not now?
It feels right

Cross the stage and hope for a prayer
That God knows you tried
The levels of pain and exhaustion
Goes beyond the gentle touch of the universe
Where you ran in circles
Where you fell down and got back up
There are stories nobody has heard of 
And you are the reality they will hear

Never the first option, Fighting for proof
Standing up tall and writing away
Talking about the moments
You didn't run away
You were afraid but never afraid
A flower grown skin deep
The trauma of waves inside your eyes
Lips of a soldier, armed and true
A free throw never lies

Finding your call at countdown's door
Two-way path of feeling torn
Open the letter that shipped you away
A dribbler's conscious
Take the shot or regret it forever
New sun with limited heat
Fadeaway reminders of where you were born