Dodgeball Forever Poem by Raj Dronamraju

It was always the fat kid who was the first to feel the sting of the hard plastic ball
But I didn't care because I wasn't the fat kid

And I easily dodged your tired metaphors
Being last to go out and remaining defiant in the face of over recycled shopworn devices

The girl who had rickets with bowed and twisted legs
Shamed by the order of what is good for youth into participating in games
Fell to a hard throw like a mouse before a bulldozer

I felt happy and fully realized in this properly supervised aggression
Who can argue against well maintained cruelty in such a relevant and rigorous curriculum
Years later, would recall what I dodged and also what hit me but didn't lay me out for long