[This was written after the courtside stabbing of Monica Seles during a break between tennis games in Hamburg, Germany.
With love we started,
and predictable
boxes
lined to hold youthful
energy.
We served
toward that familiar net
hard,
and received
what we expected to return
so
the rhythm would
beat
and pause
beat
and pause
a
plaus-
ible
way
to spend
our selves.
We might have known
that the inevitable thrust
beyond
our boundaries
and scream
uncomprehending
would break
our game.
Dennis Lambert
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-game-16/