The Paddock Review

Shadowboxing

 

I hear the ping-ping of the bell

and no one who is fully sane

can fathom why. This bell to box

is like a tic that can’t be seen

 

an internal clock I feel at work

each time kids say they have a “sub”

in front of me, each time I drink

and sabotage my sober self

 

then force myself to take the L.

I hear the ping-ping of the bell

and rise up from my stool to fight

with cops, or in a parking lot

 

then go back home and celebrate

a swollen eye with more Bud Light.

I hear the ping-ping of the bell

and wake back up, put makeup on

 

then go to face a new school site

before I sit back down to write

my coach’s voice inside my ear.

This bell to box is like a clock

 

a tick that can’t be heard or seen.

I hear the ping-ping of the bell

this tic developed over time

spent doing time and putting in

 

the time it takes to win a prize.

I hear the ping-ping of the bell

and no one who is fully sane

can fathom why, at thirty-four,

 

a rising poet would start to box.

I hear the ping-ping in the ring

where one is heard as well as seen

because I live the metaphor!

…..

This is the title poem from the chapbook Shadow Boxer by Martin Cossio (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/shadow-boxer-by-martin-cossio/