Bowler and Strike

The Bowler and The Strike (a poem for two voices) She was a dear thing;_________You’re up! His head jerked,______________He stepped to the line He coughed,___________________and exhaled. He took a drag._______________He inhaled deeply “I miss her”__________________and tried to set himself He coughed again,_____________every muscle relaxed Releasing a cloud of smoke____second –nature, He continued:_________________the intense concentration “Things was touch and go.”____Lungs slowly filled “They coulda been different”__The ball fell into its arc. “She might be here today,”____Sliding feet “She worked too hard__________Quivering mass of muscle “She never let up.”___________Ambling toward the foul line. “Then the breakdown."_________The pendulum peaked and fell. “Her body just let go.”_______The release; nice follow through. “I didn’t know what to do,”___A frozen finger tracked the ball “I just watched her fade.”____As it carved a path to the pins. “Her heart gave out.”_________SMASH! Good action, good spin. It pumped one last time,______One last pin in a drunken wobble outward,______________________slowed to a teetering finish inward,_______________________and came to an impossible stop. the muscle tightened__________May have rocked back and stood It tried______________________or by pure chance, fallen. “She’d be with me yet today."_Fate made the difference… But it didn’t,________________It hesitated… It stopped.___________________and fell.This poem (two poems) is/are meant to be read in different ways, vertically, horizontally and the meanings relate. If it is read aloud, there should be two separate and distinct voices. I have trouble typing it in, I couldn't use the Tab key to line it up??? Written January 22nd, 2002 © on Jan 22 2002 12:51 AM PST, same as above   0 • 8