Understanding the Endgame

I don’t care where they say
people go—
you are never far away

and slapping sounds on
summer morning asphalt court
bring you closer

still

your voice
on a distant playground
calls across an elegant bridge

where muscle and mind
learn by skirmish
and heart is summoned from a place inside,

moments shared between warm up jump shots,
left handed hook, delivered, defined
magic contained in a no-look pass

…no nod needed or even a glance
you always knew
where I would be.

united we play

in the new room—
renovated basement / turned rec room

my grandkids and I
inflate a large balloon

we stretch a white string
from wall to wall

and decorate the place
from ceiling to floor

with bursts of contagious
laughter

as we play,
the first game ever

of keepy-uppy/volleyball

Pepe lives in Milwaukee. He is a retired foundry worker and union representative. From 1999-2001 Pepe helped form a poetry group that published three chapbooks of bilingual poems. He has enjoyed poetry ever since he can remember and in retirement is pursuing it with more appreciation than ever.