BAS-KET (basketball)

Buried in the closet for so long,
the Bas-Ket game emerged, flooding me
with court memories of childhood games.
How often did I pull the levers to launch
a ping-pong ball into a plastic basket?
This was my childhood video game,
attended by leagues and statistics
when dreams of a professional sports life
could be innocently entertained.
The box is now frayed, the baskets ripped,
and maturity has morphed me
into someone standing on the sidelines.
Another rejection today,
the latest in a continuing series,
which has shot me back into the arms of nostalgia.
I will never be a sports star, or a writer, even.
Best to put Bas-Ket back in the box and closet,
and pick myself up off the hardwood floor.