In Step

 

In Step

New boy, old shoes,
seems to know how.
Girl studies, furrowed brow.
“Would you show me?”
He grins. “You bet.”

Brown girl, white boy
share soccer tricks
(fakes, spin kicks)
like tango steps
on a dirt floor.

Nimble feet
for the ball compete,
their only touch.

Lips clenched, Tania pauses
to repair beaded breads.
Tight shorts, brown thighs,
her body a diamond
centered in the hips.

Tony smiles lots, curly red hair,
his head a pumpkin
on a pale post.

After one-on-one,
three laps they run
side by side, chatting.
unaware that arms and legs
are perfectly timed
like a chorus line
in rise and fall of
knee to knee, right to right,
cleat to cleat, left to left.

Walking to the street, Tony talks,
Tania listens cradling ball to her chest
as they wander in synchrony,
step to step,
breath to breath,
making a start
heart to heart.

…..

First published in MOON magazine
photo by Dimitris Vetsikas

Note: It may be impossible to convey something so visual in the words of a poem but I had to try. I watched this boy and girl, obviously new to each other, shy at first but quickly connecting, trade soccer moves and then run laps unaware of their perfect arm-and-leg symmetry which continued as they walked away together. I saw two souls meet and synchronize.