contest time

Finally found the indoor park, walked inside,
Hit by the sounds of urethane on plywood,
Alterna-rock blaring from the speakers,
Ramps, hubbas and banks,
Surrounded by chain-link fencing.
Walked around the back, looking for the pool,
Teens with helmets slapped on,
Jauntily so, over their mop-tops,
As haphazardly as the stickers,
Advertising this or that on their helms.
Tight jeans and big skate shoes,
Brand-name skate companies,
Emblazoned across their chests,
Popsicle riding leaders of tomorrow,
Some with girlfriends in tow.
I’m still hung-over from the night before,
Killed a twelve pack just like that, up until just past four,
Had to eat four Tylenols and chilidogs,
to alleviate the pain of regret.
Found my buddy, Todd of NativeSkates,
Sitting with G.V. of NemesisSkateboards,
And some other cats, old school Michigan crew,
All showed up in force, to check out Danforth’s pool contest.
Bill introduced me to- dang, what was his name?
The guy was forty-two, hair all grey,
Returned to the board just seven years before,
Stoked on the Old Man Army, told him to check it out,
Sign up and join the crew, and talked about skating,
Told me about rad sessions in Lansing and Mason, too.
Says Skater Dave (Campbell) and Bill visit all the time,
As well as the Detroit crew up at the Nine Bowl,
Shredding, grinding, carving at the two parks,
Designed and built by Team Pain,
Paid for by folks like me and you.
Young shredders representing in the pool,
One of them was named Micah Wu,
Came all the way from Lexington, KY,
And if I’m not mistaken, he’s only nine,
But local legend Skater Dave had a rough time.
Should’ve owned that pool, schooled them fools,
But at contest time, you never know,
If you’re “A-game” will show, if you’re in the flow,
But still good to see some rippers, young and old.
Forgot to mention that they had real pool coping,
I sat a few feet away, tried taking photos,
Tried anticipating, getting a shot while they were floating,
Or doing inverts and 360’s and rock-n-rolls,
But ended up with pictures of the ceiling,
Or an empty pool, or guys running after bailing.
Growing and learning all the while,
Don’t know if any of us would ever compete,
Went to check out the park just north of Twelve Mile,
Hanging with bros who shared our love of concrete,
The coolest part was that the whole family went,
Even the wife(!), so all in all, it was time well spent.