The Tank and The Beast

Feb 25, 2014

rj-fresen

RJ Fresen

The following two poems were written by Junior Tennis Champions Center player and 7th grader RJ Fresen:

The Tank
By RJ Fresen

If you tank

You will get in trouble

With Coach Frank

If you tank

You will lose more and more

Because you will hit shank after shank

If you tank

Your level will go increasingly down

You will certainly lose your high rank

If you tank

You will never play as a pro

No winning speeches, no one to thank

If you tank

Deep down you will always be hollow and guilty

A waste of the dreams in your savings bank

I NEVER tank

And because of that

I will NEVER get in trouble

with Coach Frank!

Note:  Coach Frank refers to JTCC Senior Director of High Performance Frank Salazar.

The Beast
By RJ Fresen

One day, not long ago

I was the top seed at a tennis tournament.

Things were going as expected, and then…

The beast woke up from within.

What was this beast?

The searing pain

Ripping through my gut

Rendering me helpless

Me rolled up in a ball

Lying there no hope at all.

My next match in three hours

I cannot stand up

I cannot move a limb

I barely can breathe

I can only lie there

As the beast is devouring me from within

In my weakened state

I try what I can through the pain

Massage, medicine, energy drinks.

Nothing works

The pain was like a tsunami

Rising to demolish a small helpless island

But the island is proud, strong and refuses

To go down without a fight

In my mind

I picture the island

Winning the battle as I lose consciousness.

In my fitful slumber

I continue to fight the beast.

I wake up and I can feel the beast losing strength

I can win this battle

Five minutes before match time

I am still far from well

But there is a glimmer of hope.

A lesser man would been devoured at the beginning

He would have given in to the beast.

Not I!

I will never say die…

With the beast still rumbling

But I, not letting go of the reins

Am fighting two battles now…

On the court and with my beast within

I prevail

I win

I am…

The beast.

 

JTCC logo
Follow Us