If you haven’t caught on from previous iterations of NaPoWriMo or you’re just checking this out for the first time, there is ALWAYS a piece dedicated to the Men’s National Champions of basketball.

This year, it looks like Villanova is back in the spotlight after an impressive 79-62 victory over a tough Michigan squad. The following piece is dedicated to Villanova, as well as all of those basketball fans out there who still have hoop dreams deep inside.

Super Nova

Echoes of a dribble reverberate around an empty gymnasium.

The hardwood behemoth might be quiet and reserved at the moment,

but just how loud that silence is gives one a chance to reflect.

A chance to remember those 3-on-2 drills,

those running the length of the court in 30 seconds or less,

those praying for the basketball to go in the hoop so yet

another suicide doesn’t have to be ran after practice.

 

If pain is weakness leaving the body,

what enters it with an orange sphere of possibility, one might ask?

It’s love.

It’s tenderness difficult to put into words when

you start finding a rhythm that had been initially disrupted by misses,

Initially disrupted by sweat,

Initially disrupted by the mental barriers cleared in one’s own mind.

 

Basketball is physical chess.

Especially when you might come from a city or place where

everything around you is a minefield to navigate in the larger game of life,

where earning a degree makes lack of sleep worth it,

It hurts yet,

in a city of brotherly love,

in the birthplace of American motors,

in the land of purple mountain majesties,

each dribble is a step.

Each shot is a study session.

Each scrimmage is a presentation.

 

Life might cause a catastrophic explosion or two when we least expect it.

But it leads to a sudden increase in brightness that leaves its mark,

before it’s all said and done.