Your Pink Soccer Ball
(for John Bagley.)
When I saw the picture of your soccer ball
I thought it was a wondrous thing...
It has a ring about it...
A zing and bling that speaks
Defiantly...
You did not like that soccer game !
..and yet.....you had the ball
Your father gave you that.
It did not go to waste..
You held the ball instead
Thinking to make it red
But you chose Pink...
A shocking lurid Pink at that !
You chose the glitter sequins
With an artist’s eye....a poetic touch
Reflecting who you were for all those years
Down thru’ the tears
Ball games were not for you...
.... you left it on a shelf.
Your father did not understand
A disappointed man.
He wondered who you were
But now he loves you.
You got it right.
Kristine Byrne 2011-12