She dribbles the ball
focused on the task at hand
the crowd roars at her
shoot shoot shoot
her coach is screaming
don’t turn it over don’t turn it over
her teammates yell their exasperated rage
the ref huffs and puffs on his whistle
the clock ticks slowly
10....9....8....7....6

She can’t hear anything else
she can’t see anything else
there is only bouncing
u
p
and
d
o
w
n


The feeling of flying
soaring through the air
shooting towards the basket
crowd watching some with hopeful eyes
some saying miss it miss it!!!
other make it make it!!!!!


Pressure so much pressure
roll on the rim once
roll on the rim twice
silence in the gym
no one else can hear anything


Sailing through the net
hitting the floor beneath
silence
then the crowd screams relief
they’ve won they’ve won
Now she can hear the yells of her teammates
the victory scream from her coach
the cries and moans of defeat from the other team
sailing free through the air