Gym Rats

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My life has been spent in gyms

Watching husbands and sons

and sons and daughters of sons

Shoot and dribble leather balls,

Sweat dripping off fierce countenances.

The thrill of victory

And the agony of defeat

Determining whether car rides home

Are joyous celebrations

Or solemn tense rides in suffocating silence.

Intertwined in these emotional memories

The hours of practice

The hours of waiting between games

The hours of endless contests

Youth leagues,

high school,

and college,

Offense and defense

the endless procession of coaches

Yellers and screamers

Logical and cool headed

Until finally the players

Become the coaches

And the cycle continues

And the time flies by

And the excitement continues

Lives lived in the gym

All for the love

of the game of basketball