At the Ball
Before the ball
The dance floor waits:
A hardwood anticipation of adrenaline rush.
Then the dancers appear:
An aggregate of ath-elites
Color-coded in numbered renown.
Now the ball begins in surround sound
Bilateral bodies in forty-eight minute motion
Matching and mixing to a twelve bar blues.
The dancers dance
From fresh twenty-fours to fast-break runs
From daredevil dribbling to crossover choreography
From triangle tactics to three pointer techniques.
The dancers dance
From pick and roll patterns to post-up pyrotechnics
From sliding screen set-ups to slam-dunk shockers
From anecdotal assists to alley-oop artistry.
The dancers dance
With heart-stopping heroics and hangtime hoops
With shutterstep strategies and spinning-step specialities
With elevation effectiveness and levitation lay-ups.
The dancers dance
With base-line basics and beat-the-buzzer baskets
With in-the-paint rebounds and in-your-face reverses
With second shot opportunities and poster-shot obligations.
The dancers dance
From firststep footwork to fadeaway jumpers
From regulated rotations to split-second sensations
From grandiose gambles to spectacular scrambles.
The dancers dance
From unobstructed looks to uncontested hooks
From full-court press to fourth quarter guess
From two-on-one thriller to final shot killer.
The dancers dance
See them step and strut
Observe them saunter and stroll and speed and spin
Look at them stride and slide and swagger and sashay
Watch them spiral and soar
Behold their dance!
The dancers dance:
They dance in the air
They dance on their feet;
I dance on my chair
I dance in my seat-
At the ball.
George Edward Tait