Day six and beyond

There is life after tennis!

God knows how many days

I lay there in the recycling bin,

forgotten, waiting to be shredded.

Suddenly the pro drops

a new batch of discarded balls

into the bin and I tumble out,

roll down the steps, right

into the mouth of a cocker spaniel!

This is it, I thought, the end.

He’ll chew me into shreds for sure.

Instead, he runs over into

the playground section by the pool.

A four year old named Penn Junior

takes me out of his mouth, squeals happily,

throws me as hard as he can for a few feet

and Alter the Cocker (that’s his name)

keeps running me down and retrieving me,

over and over and over –

delightful, happy happy me!

It takes me a while

to get used to the saliva

and I’ve never liked being wet

but I’m bouncing and rolling again

and Alter never tires of retrieving me.

True, it’s no longer tennis

but I’m making someone happy:

Penn Junior takes me everywhere:

the pool, the playground. the pre-school,

his bathtub and kisses and puts me

under his pillow every night.

I’ve found true love at last.

Life’s a real ball again.

I no longer miss Topspin.