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First Pick Flamingo
They used to call this player the flamingo;
They chaffed and mocked; they were full of bravado.
‘Cause he’s the new kid, they didn’t know his skills
He missed three practice shots, so he was grilled.
A weird name to deride his faultless form.
The children found it strange, yet ‘twas the norm:
A flawless jump shot with his shooting arm
In full flex with a downward facing palm.
At first, his nickname meant to be a diss,
The children laughed, “You can’t score shooting like this”,
Without the backboard, they said he won’t score;
He didn’t need bank shots; time to wipe the floor.
His first five shots just splashed the net, so smooth;
The rust removed, the boy was in his groove.
Now double teamed, he faked and spun right through
And laid it in, “I’ll take the easy two!”
They goofed by jeering his NBA form,
As when they saw how ably he’d perform,
He’d go from last pick to consensus first;
He’d tyrannise the game; their hubris hurt.
The despot was defensively deft too:
Rebounds with blocks and steals, the foes sank few;
Perimeter or paint, the bulwark guarded,
His size and vigour left them brokenhearted!
His bag of tricks was deep—his handles sweet;
He’d Eurostep the foes with lightning feet.
His signature technique: the fadeaway.
This wily one left foes in deep dismay.
Don’t mock what you don’t understand, daft boys:
Poor forms with two hands, bank shots weak as soy.
The young flamingo loved to watch the sport:
He learned by watching pros play on the court.
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The “Eurostep”: named so because it was first used in European basketball, is when an offensive player picks up their dribble, takes a step in one direction, and then quickly takes a second step in another direction.
The “fadeaway”: is a special type of jump shot, which is taken while jumping backwards to create space between the shooter and defender, avoiding attempted blocks.
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Drilon Bajrami is a nascent poet who lives in the United Kingdom and is currently finishing up a dystopian novel he has been working on for a few years.
Excellent lesson related to “you can’t tell a book by the cover.” This is very descriptive of someone who took completed advantage of the opportunity given to perform. Well written and heartwarming.
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement, Roy. I was ecstatic when I joined the new school and they had a full length court and interest in the game, because my former school had a solitary hoop and no interest.
I was reminded of Susan Boyle’s audition for Britain’s Got Talent. As Ŕoy says, heartwarming.
The Susan Boyle audition is a good comparison, Paul, and I’m glad you enjoyed the poem.
Attempting a poem on sports techniques is challenging. Very often the names of plays don’t mean much to persons without a lively interest. They must be explained or described or even re-named in an energetic way to give the poem exciting word choices. And the poet must show how they create the drama of winning a game. Here, Drilon, you do this and outline the character of the Flamingo (at first scorned on court), while saving to the end a little secret of his success. He became a spectacular player by being an observant watcher! Good sport story.
Thank you for your insightful comment, Margaret, this was a challenging poem to write because of those factors (as any piece of form poetry is being honest, at least for myself) but challenging yourself is always something I try to not shy away from.
And yes, the flamingo was gifted with a copy of NBA2K for his birthday from his uncle for his PSP and he loved the game so much that he started to watch it, too, and the rest is history, as they say. It’s a shame there is no basketballing infrastructure here in the UK for those with talent. Those games in school are a very fond memory, though, because never before or after did I get to play with a full court of players like that. Every boy here wants to be a soccer player and let’s just say I was the antithesis of the flaming on a soccer pitch!