Darkness to Light, Achieving the Dream

The smell of the hardwood, the nets in place This is what I see and face From whistle blow to half time show I am in the right place I am ready to play My muscle warm I am pumped deep down in my core I am ready to rebound and I am ready to score The jump ball is up and it comes to me I am eager to set the perfect play you see Two point, three points a foul maybe I am in my element dribbling on these dead trees We score the first two The crowd is cheering Little did I know that my muscles would soon be jeering The game continued on and we were on top And then it happened the unforgettable pop I fell to the floor at mid court My body would no longer allow this sport I was carried off by old men weaker than I But I could not see much past the tears in my eyes The words that followed were really not heard By me the athlete, they flew past me like a bird I would not listen, no I would not accept That I had to have surgery and that I would be kept In the hospital room so cold and white I promised myself then I would not accept this blight Incisions and Drains followed the first few days Tremendous pain and suffering would come my way But nothing would force my mind to give up on my dream to play I promised myself again to face the fear day after day One month, two months, three months then four I worked at rehab to gain back my strength and more I wanted to make it college to play I knew I could do it, no matter what they would say I made it back to play for my high school We made it state, that was really cool But my real goal was still alive deep inside I wanted the college challenge, a dream I could not hide I continued to work to improve my game Failure was not an option and neither was shame I knew it was out there it was a matter of time My journey was not a level playing field but rather a steep climb It happened at practice on a cold rainy day The coach from Penn State said “hey by the way” I see a competitor and me like how you play Would you be interested is coming to play for me today? With excited and glee, I ran home to see My mom and dad as happy as any parents could be My sisters rejoiced with all of the news My family has always been my greatest cheer crew I now am getting ready to go fulfill my dream My division 1 opportunity with a nations top team I not done dreaming however, and will never stop Until I have that national championship and my team is on top For all those who said I was too short or too slow For all those kids who have been told simply no For all those adults who told me to give up I say to all of you never, ever let up Dreams are fulfilled not by laziness or sleep But by those who work hard and barely whisper a peep Determination is a job that sends us on our way Success is the benefit that you enjoy with hard work every day.