Junior Soccer

Andrew Frisardi

You'd think the ball was a germ（胚芽，细菌）, the kids 

 exuberant（繁茂的） antibodies swarming 

 to douse it with will, then finally 

 punish it toward the orange witch-hats goal. 

My friend's daughter doesn't want us to know 

 she's eager for us to watch her jostle（争夺，推挤） 

 her little body into the skirmish（小冲突）. 

 Her hair's an antenna for attention, 

but she never turns, having learned to hide 

 childish reliance on mom's esteem. 

 She still can't grasp the rationale of rules 

 or which of the brawling feet are on her team. 

One boy, the coach's son, head-butts 

 the ball above a small astonished melee 

 of teammates contending with each other, 

 the younger kids intent on getting only 

some piece of themselves to touch it, 

 like tongues waiting to catch the first raindrop, 

 the older ones more focused, their faces 

 braced: balanced surfaces of water. 

The small girl who invited me here floats 

 to the sidelines, absentmindedly alone, 

 staring into the trees behind the school,

 before she remembers again we're watching.