Fast+Break

Fast Break

[|Biography Edward Hirsch]

// In Memory of Dennis Turner, 1946-1984 //

A hook shot kisses the rim and

hangs there, helplessly, but doesn't drop,

and for once our gangly starting center

boxes out his man and times his jump

perfectly, gathering the orange leather

from the air like a cherished possession

and spinning around to throw a strike

to the outlet who is already shoveling

an underhand pass toward the other guard

scissoring past a flat-footed defender

who looks stunned and nailed to the floor

in the wrong direction, trying to catch sight

of a high, gliding dribble and a man

letting the play develop in front of him

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">in slow motion, almost exactly

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">like a coach's drawing on the blackboard,

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">both forwards racing down the court

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">the way that forwards should, fanning out

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">and filling the lanes in tandem, moving

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">together as brothers passing the ball

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">between them without a dribble, without

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">a single bounce hitting the hardwood

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">until the guard finally lunges out

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">and commits to the wrong man

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">while the power-forward explodes past them

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">in a fury, taking the ball into the air

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">by himself now and laying it gently

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">against the glass for a lay-up,

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">but losing his balance in the process,

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">inexplicably falling, hitting the floor

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">with a wild, headlong motion

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">for the game he loved like a country

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">and swiveling back to see an orange blur

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">floating perfectly though the net.

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Photograph from: //[]
 * //<span style="color: #010000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">Edward Hirsch //**

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Poem sourced from: // http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fast-break/