“Welcome back to Day 12 of the SOL challenge.
If you are just joining us,
The Way I See It continues to struggle with execution
She appears out-matched,
underqualified,
and fatigued.”
“I agree, Betsy.
I’m not sure she has what it takes to post in the big leagues.
She will need a miracle to pull this one out!”
——–
I box-out the play-by-play commentary
and pivot to the screen before me.
My rhythm is all off.
I grasp for the perfect phrasing,
but the lines sail through my hands like a ghost ball.
I fumble on my words.
And trip on cliches.
My extended metaphors
are blocked.
I defend in the zone.
All passive voice.
No sizzle.
My sentences are a double dribble.
Coach screams: Re-dun-dan-cy!
Autocorrect flashes red warnings.
Technical fouls amass.
Mental fatigue causes indecision,
and I throw the draft out of bounds.
Half time feels like days away.
There are no timeouts remaining
or substitutions allowed.
Traveling is called:
I’m three paragraphs in
with no meaning to show for it.
I post up on the keys,
positioning to publish.
Rehearsing past literary moves.
Readying to take my fadeaway shot.
With two seconds to spare,
I release a buzzer beater,
a perfect story arc.
It is all spin,
no substance,
and short of the goal.
I lower my laptop screen
just as the crowd
begins their chant,
A I R B A L L …
The Way I See It 
Oh wow – I have read your slice over and over. Air ball? Nope. Swish!
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OMG THIS IS AMAZING. I love, love, love this! So very Kwame Alexander, too 😉 Thank you for this post – it made me smile, and I’m incredibly impressed!
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This seems Kwame Alexander inspired, too! Man, I really need to get that book.
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I was thinking the same thing as Katlyn- Kwame would love this! If this is you with an airball, then your slam dunks are exquisite. There is so much to admire in the way you gamified writer’s block. A true masterpiece. I especially loved these lines which made me chuckle, “My sentences are a double dribble. /Coach screams: Re-dun-dan-cy!” because coach’s words capture my inner writing voice so accurately.
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WOW!!!!!
You masterfully included all the sports lingo. I laughed as you opened with play-by-play announcers and even naming one Besty! This is so fun to read, especially in March with March Madness in the air. Such clever writing.
Thanks for sharing. I hope you shared this with your students.
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I came over here to read this several days ago, Sally passed it along to me. For some reason, it just hit me I didn’t remember leaving a comment. I had to come back. I had to come back and read it again, a few times.
The way you describe the elements of writing and the challenges so many face in this piece is masterful. I would pick a line to highlight, but on every reread I sort of feel pulled toward a different stanza each time. The announcer part is a great lead-in, so smart and clever.
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