Bout Day
My very first.
I love these moments.
The calm before the storm, the peek behind the curtain, the x-ray under the skin
I love to see the bones knitted together to become a whole person
a floor at once a jumble of measurements and lines and ropes
that snaps into entirety with one last smoothing of tape
I've been up since 6
and dressed since 8
but my ride didn't get here til 3
I have my league shirt
and my sister's number on my face
and a foolish grin that will not be swallowed
I go where I am directed
bent to the whims of Aimless
excitement mounting until that first call
"Ladies and gentlemennnnn..."
My fingers curl around my badge
STAFF proclaimed in big black important letters above the league logo
and I feel like I am a part of it.
I am a part of it.
I watch skaters gear up and show them where the roller-skate sugar cookies are
I bring bottles of water to the announcers and hawk some hoo-rags
but my elation takes flight as I settle down to watch the first jam.
Bodies that once looked to me like no more than a tangle of limbs and elbow pads
now focus into a formation, their movements purposeful and deft
I scream for my jammer with the rest of the crowd
and thank god that I've read the rules
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