Foul Shot

With two 60s stuck on the scoreboard
And two seconds hanging on the clock,
The solemn boy in the center of eyes,
Squeezed by silence,
Seeks out the line with his feet,
Soothes his hands along his uniform,
Gently drums the ball against the floor,
Then measures the waiting net,
Raises the ball on his right hand,
Balances it with his left,
Calms it with fingertips,
Breathes,
Crouches,
Waits,
And then through a stretching of stillness,
Nudges it upward.

The ball
Slides up and out,
Lands,
Leans,
Wobbles,
Wavers,
Hesitates,
Exasperates,
Plays it coy
Until every face begs with unsounding screams—

And then
And then
And then

Right before ROAR-UP,
Dives down and through.

by Edwin A. Hoey

This poem is an example of a parody. A parody is a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. This poem, as you can probably tell, is about basketball. I chose this poem because I feel like it is a perfect example of a basketball game of olympic caliber. The author has a unique set up of this poem. He effectively uses different lines for each action, accentuating the intensity of those last couple of seconds of a game. It is also a little bit ironic because the poem is about the last two seconds of a game, but at the same time it takes thirty one lines to describe the adrenaline rush and determination of every player (the poem is quite long considering the actions described take place over two secons). As well, by using literary devices such as repetition (and then, and then, and then), assonance (raises the ball on his right hand), alliteration (lands, leans; wobbles, wavers) and many others, the author is able to establish a clear image in the reader's head about that rush and adrenaline a player gets towards the end of every game, especially a game in the olympics. Basketball is an olympic sport (summer olympics) therefore I thought this parody was a good choice as it fits my theme perfectly, and describes the end of a basketball game perfectly. I also like that it was so unique in the way it was layed out.