That's interesting, Michael. I like poetry inspired by dreams. I'm afraid I know next to nothing about boxing, but I do like this track.

Best wishes,
Fliss

Here's a fantasy I forgot:

My First Game as a Running Back

In uniform, I’m feeling dread.
Our son’s not quite a man, he’d said.

I’d overheard him years ago:
Is this a phase that he’ll outgrow?

He never wants to run and play.
Mom said, He studies every day.

On the first play, my jock too tight,
I shift position to the right.

He’s far too conscious of his clothes.
Good god. He cooks, and sometimes sews.

The play’s a pass. My feet are light
and thread an opened seam, take flight.

You even let him study dance.
You want our boy to be a nance?

Dogged by defenders, I pirouette
and snag the ball. But laid out flat,

I crack two ribs. She’s full of joy
when Mom shouts out, Now that’s my boy!

I wonder why they think this grand,
and wish that I played in the band.

Dad toasts me with a Blatz beer can
before he bellows, You dah man!

.
I'm glad to see this thread revived! Just this past weekend, while watching some college football, I became engrossed in the slow motion replay of a QB fumble and the scramble that ensued to recover the ball. Unfortunately I didn't stick with the poem as it was coming through me so it remains incomplete. I will try to go back today and finish it. I guess you could say I fumbled the poem.

Michael, Mohammed Ali is an icon of my childhood. My friends and I were peaceful pot smokers but when it came to Ali we were all in. He was a pot smoker's dream, watching him. He was a poet. Whether it was in the ring or on Dick Cavett trading barbs with Frazier or on the debate stage going toe-to-toe with philosophers, thinkers. I think he did more to advance human rights with his words and actions via civil rights than maybe even MLK.
Your poem is classic. The last stanza is heart wrenching. The first stanza blasphemy to the cancel culture. The middle stanza a great pan of the man who could not be beat. Except that he was. By the dark side of the very thing that made him invincible. Great stuff. I've got to make a note to buy your books.

Ralph, your personal story of living up to expectations through sport is one that I remember well. Tennis was ruined for me because of being pushed beyond what I as a 10-12 year old could bear. I was good. I wasn't competitive.

.