the day's only just begun

The day started out better than most,
Z-Man and I were dropped off at the park,
Wife and the rest went to breakfast,
My boy wanted to skate while it was early,
Not too many folks clogging up the lines,
Hone our skills without too many prying eyes.
Five or so guys already there,
Plus a couple of kids—neighbors of ours,
We call them the “loud kids” cuz they are,
Can hear them and mom yelling everyday,
But at the park they’re pretty mellow,
The youngest spots us and says hello.
Don’t even know their names,
But shorty can rip and is only seven,
Dropping in, ollieing, launching outta the bowls,
Told my son to watch and learn,
See how his knees bend on his kickturns.
I sat and watched, too—still skate like a grom,
Getting higher on the walls, hitting the twinkie,
Still need more speed, need bigger cojones,
Other oldschoolers started carving around the park,
Gave me a kick in the butt, gave this old man a spark.
Some twenty-six year old was bitchen about being old,
Told him to suck it up, twelve years his senior,
Nowhere close to hanging it up, giving up,
Working on my fakies, trying to work on my skills,
Working on kickturns, living for the thrills.
I had to take a step back, working on the basics,
Tired of hurting myself, going the distance,
Not overdoing, taking baby steps for sure,
But can’t be skipping steps, need to do it right,
Hit the wall fast, fells like you’re about to take flight.
Everything good, good old time, til I hit my knee,
Hopping over the coping, going to check the bowl,
Damm oh damm, what the hell, bruising up,
So much for not hurting myself, solid session,
Up til then, learned something else, another lesson.
Seventy-seven degrees, park is gonna be packed,
Later in the day, by mid-afternoon, wall-to-wall,
My sessions are short, building up my endurance,
But overall, I can’t complain, enjoying the sun,
Smiling as I carve along and the day’s only just begun.