I don't box as much as I used to. My gym moved the heavy bag to a crowded spot, the speed bag is always deflated, and there's no room to jump rope. I know: excuses, excuses. Plus, I'm developing a strange addiction to TRX, still doing boot camp, and loving the hot yoga class I discovered. The thing about my exercise routine is that it's never routine. I like change. I like variety. I like a dash of fun. But in reading today's poem, I remembered why I loved boxing. It's expansive, in the sense that it widens the way you see the world. It's not solitary, although the training can be. It's tough, but not solemn, work. Like love itself.
Teaching the Girls
by Janice Lynch Schuster
After dinner the girls shadow box
In the kitchen. There is hardly space
For their joy, their blonde energy
As they bob and weave near the counter.
I warn them away from the burners,
coffee pot and knives.
Metaphors fly; they are merry and warm,
I am their crazy coach, reciting
Poetry and combinations
As what’s left of dinner burns.
Chin down, guard up!
I mimic my trainer. Light on your feet,
Move! I’ve been training them for years
For the punches life will land,
The world beautiful and brutal,
Everyday and extraordinary.
I want them ready to slip
Through it as we do this night,
So wired by their own lives,
Nothing crowding them in a corner
The whole arena of my love
Resounding in their laughter.
---printed with permission of the author, all rights reserved by her.
Janice Lynch Schuster is the author of a new collection, "Saturday at the Gym," due out in April. Her poems have appeared in Poet Lore and The Broadkill Review. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine. She is the co-author of several books on how to improve care at the end of life, and is senior writer for the Altarum Institute. A mother of six, she enjoys boxing, walking, and writing. She'll be giving a reading at The Writer's Center on April 17, if you'd like to hear more.
Poetry Friday is hosted today by Andi at a wrung sponge
I never boxed but always watched the matches on tv with my dad. Thanks for this poem. Especially this:
ReplyDelete"Move! I’ve been training them for years
For the punches life will land,
The world beautiful and brutal"
This makes me want to box. And to teach my daughter to box. So visual. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this poem, Sara. Her books sound interesting/useful, too.
ReplyDeletei sometimes try to engage my girls in a little boxing - just getting them into the right pose, following through on a couple poses - all in fun, but strangely mostly in the kitchen when i'm cooking. huh. great poem, btw.
ReplyDeletealso, i don't jump rope as much as i used to, but i ditched my problem with space when we moved to a place with low ceilings - i no longer use a rope! knowing what it's supposed to feel like, i go simply by form and motion.
What a great poem -- thanks so much for telling us about Janice's new book!
ReplyDeleteLove "nothing crowding them in a corner/the whole arena of their love/resounding in their laughter."
This poem is so visual. I can almost see you all boxing in the kitchen while dinner's on the stove! But this line brought me to tears:
ReplyDelete"The whole arena of my love
Resounding in their laughter."
I'm not a parent, but this gives me some idea of the love I would feel If I were. Thanks for posting this.
I love "For the punches life will land/The world beautiful and brutal"
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing. I don't box, nor do my girls, but I love the metaphor for life.
ReplyDeleteThank you to everyone for leaving such thoughtful and generous comments about my boxing poem. I used to write poetry all the time, but stopped for many years. Then I got involved in boxing, and suddenly had a wellspring of images, metaphors, and ideas. I especially like this poem, which I think captures the joy both of mothering and of boxing.
ReplyDeleteBTW--I hate jump roping, but it's a necessary part of the routine. And I just got my first set of gloves and wraps.
Loved this! Especially:
ReplyDeleteThere is hardly space
For their joy,
Move! I’ve been training them for years
For the punches life will land,
The world beautiful and brutal,
Everyday and extraordinary.
Nothing crowding them in a corner
The whole arena of my love
Resounding in their laughter.
Beautiful.
I don't think I can get into boxing but I have started jumping rope in my kitchen while the boys are cleaning up after dinner. It's a small kitchen but just big enough. That is fun in a challenging way. I do love this poem & the sound of the girl's laughter that rings through it.
ReplyDeleteMy aquatic aerobics instructor sometimes has us take a shadow boxing pose to do punches as part of our work. He makes fun of me because I look like I'm knocking on a door. Maybe I need a boxing class!
ReplyDeleteOh, Sara and Janice...lovely poem. really. boxing is such a great metaphor for life.
ReplyDeleteDealing with major teenaged angst this weekend, I'm thinking how important it is to have my guard up and chin down and,even more important, to find the joy in every move. To stay ready and relaxed.
ReplyDeleteAll of it. My trainer's best advice is to do what I have to so I can do what I love. And I do, every time I hit a mit.
ReplyDeleteReally love this.
ReplyDelete