Clueless on the Rebound
By Jake Appleman/@JakeAppleman
Mom was born a Newark Knick
Pops, a New York Net
They rarely got along, but Bro’s a shining Sun
Game-changing skills, whole lotta fun.
Top young childhood memories are games at the Garden,
–24 and 12 for Saint Patrick, and a Brent Price sighting–
…and a swim in the Bioluminescent Bay
Call it a perfectly Heated Lake,
O Viernes en Vieques…un viaje
My teacher asked me to keep a journal;
Donyell Marshall, a sign of The Times
***
Flash forward,
Courtside in the swamp,
“Hey Jalen!” a kid shouts
“My dad went to Michigan!”
The rook doesn’t break stride–
Still fabulous in the layup line,
But perceptions change after you go Pro.
Who would’ve thought the rose would grow
concrete to corporate,
and the web would be the dynamite?
The Jackson fifth, maybe.
***
College years were like Ohio: Beautiful in stretches
Divisional studies in Cavaliers and Pistons
Rockets and Sprocket and Ginger
Spurs and moments and Brooklyn.
Graduate work in Deep Sixers and sevens.
If I wasn’t collaborative, I wouldn’t run with a Bull
or a family filled with Wizards fans and Celtic history
Whole lotta Russell, right there
And Red. Or Black. And facial hair.
And “It counts.
And the foul.”
***
“A few rings and things.”
Looking to set the Pace
or Blaze a new trail in the next decade.
Pass the Buck, maybe try and hear the Jazz
Or just shout like a lonely Wolf
From the beginning until the end,
wherever the journey takes me,
whoever I’m with,
If a game’s on, it will always be Magic.
Because we’re still not worthy.
Rest in Peace, Duke. Love you, dog.
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