this weekend.

This weekend I exhaled

and laced up my sneakers to bounce the ball

on 103-degree pavement,

through nylon nets that caught it and wouldn't let go

until we coaxed it with a slap.

H-O-R-S-E

Prove it, for the win.

Then the Gatorade quenched our thirst

A sweet nectar from the gods.

When the plague of gnats forced us from the grass

we threw the Frisbee in the parking lot

and walked

and talked

and balanced

beneath the building thunderheads, orange and pink

until it was time for dinner.

Tacos and jalapeno

chips and cherries and grapes

made a good night.

Saturday we Scrabbled

and so this weekend

I exhaled.