You’d think they were playing
for an NBA championship ring.
Or maybe a berth in the Final Four.
At least a high school division title
the way they scramble for rebounds,
pass the ball around the perimeter,
look for the open player inside,
shoot from the top of the key
or drive hard for the lay-up,
fight for loose balls, all elbows
and knees and ponytails flying.
A few of the girls are big for their age;
most are not yet five feet tall,
bantam bundles of energy.
The Middle East reeks of hate.
Putin is using North Koreans
to put the screws to Ukraine.
We live each day in the shadow
of nuclear war and global warming,
and the recent US elections
give little reason for hope.
But this morning these girls
are having fun playing basketball,
and I’m having fun on the sidelines
watching these girls having fun,
and one could almost believe
God’s in his heaven,
all’s right with the world.
(St. John’s vs. St. Madeline’s)
by W.D. Ehrhart