The volleyball player is a greedy being
Constantly striving for more, never satisfied

We will melt our wax wings off
If it means we get a chance to fly

Falling from that burning sky, no one can reach us
When we’re up that high
and when the ocean floor touches our heads
We’re too far gone, not victors yet

A drowning, suffocating feeling, until you suddenly
Learn to breathe
And you will keep those wax wings on, even if
It means sinking to the deep

Died once, drowned twice, but got back up again
Sewing flight from broken skin
I will grow wings, no matter how
Take my dead skin, can’t reach me now

Above the public pool
a volleyball so cool
stuck for years
in the rafters
Someone’s
breath of life
trapped in
it’s bladder
Evidence of
their lingering
presence, me
wondering
if they ever
pondered the
relevance of
the essence they
left behind?
Singsong thoughts
turn inward …
What about me?
In all the places
I’ve been,
pieces of me,
residual traces
of myself
left behind,
cast away!
Small links, unforgotten,
faithfully preserved
by old friends—
threads of connection
reinforced by timeless bonds—
who keep my words,
moves (dancing!), and
shared memories as
precious cargo,
cherished keepsakes,
A clear reminder that
I exist!  I matter!
I’m something much more
than simply air I breathe
on an unremembered day …
Like that beautiful volleyball
in the rafters

W I L S O N ! ! !




Mark Toney © 2023

There is a sign on the door with her name on it
A red pillow pet in the form of a dog lays on her bed
Volleyball sit on the floor waiting to be played with
Orange curtains hang in front of her window
The pictures scattered on her wall say she she adores her friends
Books neatly placed on her shelf say she reads to much
Clean clothes in her closet waiting to be hung and the overflowing laundry basket say she's procrastinating
The drawings taped to her wall say she's an artist

A wall surrounds me that
acts like I am not a threat.
Acts like I am not an equal

I return to the corner of those
who are underestimated
Walls will not stop us even if
we are six-foot or five-foot two
We must break through.

The Iron Wall.
A wall seen as indestructible
A wall that mocks me
My hands spikes the ball only to
ricochet and slam
into the court beneath me

Run faster.
Jump higher.
Get there before they even realize.
A wall is only a problem until
you can see the other side

The view over the wall
is right before me
clear as day but
I know it’s only temporary
Temporary because there will
be more walls
Walls that I will have to take down

There will be other obstacles on
the other side that I will have to face
but breaking down the wall is
what I must face now

Shaking
Taking in breaths
Through the bottom of my feet
Aching
In all the places that I landed
Mind overtaken
By all the possibilities
Of things that could've come

You're the master
Not the disaster
Jump up, jump down through the net
You have your pupils get
To play good yet
I look at your cleats
You cast glances on the *****
I jump to spike fast
Your pure glances are cast
We have no time to rest
The marathon moves from past
Let's say love to the gym
Pleases us on the team