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Play to Win

January 11, 2013
By Kris_10 GOLD, North Scituate, Rhode Island
More by this author
Kris_10 GOLD, North Scituate, Rhode Island
10 articles 0 photos 73 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..." -Theodore Roosevelt

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“Matthew.”
His name rolls off the nurse’s tongue
Like a bowling ball searching for a strike.
She hands him a foam basketball
Showing him the plastic hoop
Taped to the supply closet
“We got this for you”
His face lights up
Brighter than traffic light
I crumble
The orange ball rolls by my left heel
Matthew runs over to me
“Here you go,” I extend my arm
He freezes before me
Like a deer in headlights
He’s not sure if he should run past the car
Or stay in safety
“It’s for you,” I assure him
His bright expression returns
A few blonde hairs were just beginning to poke out
From under his pale skin
His sea green eyes conquer the majority of his forehead
A toothy grin blossoms
Revealing more teeth than the average two year old
I hand him the ball
“Thank you” he barely whispers.
Then rotates 180°
Almost tripping over his intravenous machine
He races back up his makeshift court
Pausing every so often to giggle at himself
Going in for the layup
It bounces of the tomorrow fund poster
And swoosh
Game point.

© Ali C., Hyannisport, MA

The author's comments:
My doctor's office is directly next to the tomorrow fund clinic. These two office's share a waiting room. Every time I'm there, so is Matthew. Matthew is two years old and has inspired this poem after displaying to me what it is like to be a cancer patient. My heart goes out to to him and I hope yours does as well.
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 14 comments.

Mckay ELITE said...
on Apr. 18 2013 at 12:49 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

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That's awful. I do hope he will be okay. Thoughts and prayers are with that family. 
Kris_10 GOLD said...
on Apr. 17 2013 at 10:33 pm
Kris_10 GOLD, North Scituate, Rhode Island
10 articles 0 photos 73 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...&quot; -Theodore Roosevelt

View profile
I didn't show him becuase he's only 2. and I don't know if he's okay. I hope so. I heard his doctors tallking once with his mom. Apparently, this was his second time with cancer and he was jus recovering. so he was cancer free last time  saw him but they also said if he go tit again, then it was over. It's so sad and he's so young. But I won't see him again becuase i switched doctors. I pray for him though.
Mckay ELITE said...
on Apr. 17 2013 at 3:09 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

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Aww, so sad. It reminds me of The Fault in Our Stars. Great, now I wanna cry. Truly an amazing story. Did you show this to Matthew? Is he okay more importantly? This is one of my favorites. 
Mckay ELITE said...
on Apr. 17 2013 at 1:57 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

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Officially one of my faves. What an amazing story! it reminds me of The Fault in Our Stars. Crap, now I'm on the verge of tears. Keep rocking and writing poem like this. By the way, is Matther okay? Did you show him this?
redhairCat PLATINUM said...
on Feb. 25 2013 at 4:13 pm
redhairCat PLATINUM, Pebble Beach, California
47 articles 20 photos 411 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I can do anything!&quot;

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You have some grammatical errors, but other than that, this is a great poem with so much good imagery and descriptions. You are very talented! Keep writing - you have what it takes to get in the mag.
flanny SILVER said...
on Feb. 2 2013 at 12:39 pm
flanny SILVER, Madison, New Jersey
5 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;You must do the thing you think you cannot do.&quot; ~Eleanor Roosevelt

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AWWW this was s  sad! Heartbreaking, and very moving
Jade.I.Am ELITE said...
on Feb. 2 2013 at 12:31 am
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;If you&#039;re losing your soul and you know it, then you&#039;ve still got a soul left to lose&rdquo; <br /> ― Charles Bukowski

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Wait the boy is TWO??? That's SAD, omfg! Wow.... I don't even wanna look at anymore poems, jeez! — btw your writing was good, I'm just spazzing out about the fact that is is a true story
Jaimeexo said...
on Jan. 27 2013 at 3:03 pm
i thought it was a amazing poem
Kris_10 GOLD said...
on Jan. 24 2013 at 12:00 pm
Kris_10 GOLD, North Scituate, Rhode Island
10 articles 0 photos 73 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...&quot; -Theodore Roosevelt

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Thanks! I will right now! (:
TheHerbArtist SILVER said...
on Jan. 23 2013 at 11:02 pm
TheHerbArtist SILVER, Paradise, California
6 articles 0 photos 25 comments
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This was adorable. Have you ever thought about writing fction stories? You would be very good at it, you have a descriptive mind (: Please comment on my poem Orange Grove, Thankss 
Kbuschan PLATINUM said...
on Jan. 23 2013 at 7:39 pm
Kbuschan PLATINUM, South Plainfield, New Jersey
25 articles 0 photos 64 comments

Favorite Quote:
Fall in love or fall in hate; Get inspired or be depressed; Ace a test or flunk a class; Make babies or make art; Speak the truth or lie and cheat; Dance on tables or sit in the corner; Life is divine chaos. Embrace it. Breathe. And enjoy the ride...

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Aww I thought this was great! The fact that you didnt even mention that he had an illness, within the poetry itself at least,  made it have even more of an impact. I love your description with the bowling pins too!!
Kris_10 GOLD said...
on Jan. 21 2013 at 7:03 pm
Kris_10 GOLD, North Scituate, Rhode Island
10 articles 0 photos 73 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...&quot; -Theodore Roosevelt

View profile
if you've ever read a poem book, like many of Sonya Sones book, that was the kind of thing i was going for. more of a story in the form of a poem. but thank you! (:
kaitlynisweird SILVER said...
on Jan. 21 2013 at 2:58 pm
kaitlynisweird SILVER, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
5 articles 0 photos 17 comments
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It's so sad that someone so young has to have it so tough. My heart DOES go out to him, as well.  Anyway, I liked your writing. I could clearly picture the scene in my head, and your imagery discriptions are good. I like the line "His name rolls off the nurse's tongue. Like a bowling ball searching for a strike." I don't know. It's just a fairly unusual metaphor and I liked it. It's true that you could probably right an essay on this boy, Matthew. There's not really a rhythm in my head, like there is with most poems, and you don't use any rhymes at all. But if poetry's the medium you prefer, use it. It's a free verse: it doesn't have to have a conventional structure. 
nmk1128 SILVER said...
on Jan. 20 2013 at 11:00 pm
nmk1128 SILVER, Fort Myers, Florida
6 articles 0 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;You don&#039;t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.&quot; - F. Scott Fitzgerald

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This is poem that shouldn't really be a poem; it sounds like something that should be described and written out like an essay with more elaborate detail. I bet Matthre really inspired you though.