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Sestina #2: Morning
The girl steps out of her car, still tired
from last night's partying. She almost leaves her keys in
the ignition but remembers and shoves them deep into her green
bag instead. They jangle and hit
against her water bottle, which bounces
as she starts the long
climb up the hill. She brushes a strand of long
hair out of her face with a tired
sigh and squints into the glare of morning. Her ponytail bounces
in time with her stride. The water in
her bottle begins to leak. Two drops hit
her calf. Others trickle onto the green,
damp grass. She joins the other girls, all dressed in green
and gold, like her. They're sluggish this morning and take extra long
jogging to The Rock and back. They partner off and hit
to each other with sloppy, tired
strokes. The coach calls them in
for a reminder. As she talks, she bounces
a Technicolor ball, gestures wildly. She bounces
on the balls of her feet, her green
eyes narrowing and then growing wide. In
ten minutes, she says, your long-
time rivals will show up, hungry. No matter how tired
you are, she says, you've gotta hit
like you know you can. The coach talks on. A bus pulls up. Its right tires
hit
the curb. The door opens and a pack of girls bounces
down the steps. The driver gives a tired
smile and pulls down the hill for a nap. Green
and gold jackets come off. The girl with the long
hair murmurs to her partner in
a tense voice. They win the racquet twirl. The first serve is in,
hard and full of spin. The receiver can barely hit
this one. The next serve is a little long.
The girl prepares her second serve, bounces
the ball three times, then sends it flying into the green
court. It kisses the white line. The girl is not tired
anymore. She feels the smooth, sticky grip in her hand, hears dull thuds as
she bounces
the ball and takes aim. Again, the receiver's hit is off. The coach's
green
eyes flash. She's been waiting a long time for this. The other team's
already tired.
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