War and Peace

March Madness
(March 28, 2003 – NCAA Basketball tournament and unfolding war in Iraq.)

No, it is not the game,
that elegant dance
of dark and light brothers
with ball and moves
and arching shots sublime
like a ballet
of earth-defying demigods
thrilling people on the edge
of time
as the clock ticks down
each second,
each heart beat
in suspended concentration
at the target of hope
or at the foul line.

Madness, as remote clicks
from precision slams and
power dunks
from TV images
of youthful sport
to precision bombs
where brothers dark and light
and sisters in the swirling sand
do not dance in joyful play
but hang on to scraps of hope
or to life passing away
in a far-off land of pain
where a malevolent and
hostile sky of screaming rain
and blinding bursting flame
deafens in the shocking bursts
slicing the night
wrenching the heart
casting toxic clouds
during commercial break.

In this rite of March
images blur
between sport and war
tossing emotions
passing the ball
in deft offensive play
or cowering heads
beneath a crumbling wall
of a universe
caught in adrenalin rush
that frozen nightmarish place
where confusion reigns
between pride and fear
between fun and dread
between staying and flight
of excitement and death
where spectators helpless
with compassion raw
escape into normalcy
to protect themselves
from madness
yet unable to choose
what program to watch.

© 2003 Richard Sidy