After dinner the girls shadow box

In the kitchen. There is small space

For their joy, their blonde energy

As they bob and weave near the counter.

 

I warn them about the hot

Burners, coffee pot and knives.

Metaphors fly; they are merry and warm,

I am their crazy coach, reciting

Combinations as what’s left of dinner burns.

 

Chin down, guard up!

Light on your feet,

Snap that punch!

 

I’ve been training them for years

For the punches life will land,

The world beautiful and brutal,

Everyday and extraordinary.

 

I want them ready to slip

Through it as we do this night,

So wired by their own lives,

Nothing crowding them in a corner

The whole arena of my love

Resounding in their laughter.

 

From Saturday at the Gym.

Used with the author’s permission.