Standing in the gym

watching the boys

win their first game -

seeing the gold floor

under the flat fluorescent

light.

The gym smells

like my brother's feet.

Giants in sneakers

hit the shot

and grab the rebound.



The crowd screams

like

people on a plane

plummeting to their death.



Down by one,

5 seconds left -

we have the ball.

The shot goes up,

the ball hits

the orange rim,

and the crowd

is quiet

like a bee buzzing

through a field

miles away.

The ball

rolls into the basket

the horn roars

a girl faints,

falls like

a sky diver

who forgot his

chute.



The boys

win,

and the plane gets

its power back

and lands safely:

the sky diver

hits the

ground, bounces

three times

and lives to

tell the tale.