Compliments Some people – like you for instance – Just can’t take a compliment No matter what I’ve tossed knuckleballs and curves, Sliders, change-ups and have even thrown heat Straight down the middle You always act as if I’m brushing you back On an 0-and-2 When all I really want Is for you to take a healthy cut, Send my pitch into the stands And round the bases nonchalantly towards home So I can start again When I was a kid I hunted forever for arrowheads Along the riverbank Because they were light, smooth and thin And with just the right angle and speed and spin I could skim them sheer across The mesmerising surface of the sparkling stream Clear to the opposite side And celebrate with an Indian whoop Some never made it all the way, Piercing and sinking out of sight I used to put it down to poor technique Though now I’ve come to think The river’s unseen chaos Had a part to play ________________________________________________________________________ Emanuel E. García, Leaf Thoughts, One Hundred Poems, 2013 |