IN THE GAME

— for my spouse of fifty-two years

Today I learned that I would schedule
surgery yet another time. Number fifteen,
to be exact. They tell me it is not
a big deal when the cancer resurfaces
in the bladder. We just have to stay
on top of it, you say. So, I’m staying
vigilant. Looking at life under
the microscope. I want to jump
with the mullet come springtime,
to roll in the aspen leaves in fall.
To drive country roads in the summer,
to taste blackberries on your sweet lips
and tongue. I just want to play. To play
hard, like a troll in darkness, leaving marks
in caverns and caves. To play Hide
and Seek with the poetic muse,
to find joy from the journal’s blank
page. I want to run the bases and hear
the crowd’s roar when the grand slam wins
the game. To play Mother May I like I did
as a child, this time permission granted
to throw grace to the refs and umpires,
to pitch love to mere shadows and dust.

The above poem came from a prompt by Poetry Online which dealt with middle points of our lives, transitions, perhaps changes. Check out the reservoir of prompts there. They will keep you busy for a lifetime!

Published: Poetry Online, 2025; Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash