Competition Day

A poem about my favorite sport - figure skating

Slip on the tights,
Fix up your hair.
Put on the make-up,
You're almost there.

 

Hard hours of practice
Will all soon pay off.
Bruises, sweat, and tears,
And all the days you never gave up.

 

Take out the sparkly dress,
Pull it up over your bare back.
It's almost your time to shine,
From here there's no turning back.

 

You lace up your skates,
And start to feel butterflies.
Everyone back home is watching
Anxiously, while your opponents hope for your demise.

 

Your coach comes to find you,
And leads you out to the cold air.
Grabbing your sweater, mittens and guards,
You hope the judges' grades will be fair.

 

Bending your knees,
You take a deep breath.
Your group is called to the ice,
It's time to put your nerves of steel to the test.

 

Before you know it warm-up is over,
You step off to hear
The first girl go on,
And the crowd start to cheer.

 

These next minutes are agonizing,
As you wait, and you wait.
Your mind races through all possible outcomes,
But your heart has no fear or hate.

 

Then it's your turn,
You take off your guards, sweater and gloves,
Scrape your blades on the ice
As your coach tells you to go for it and gives you a hug.

 

Your name is called,
And the crowd goes wild.
Your mother always said they save the best for last,
And suddenly as you glide to your spot you feel like a child.

 

You take your position as the noise begins to fade.
It's all up to you now.
You take one last deep breath,
And get rid of the last whispers of doubt.

 

The first beat of music plays,
And you start your program with grace.
You let your feet do the work,
And keep a smile on your face.

 

You fly through your spins,
Jump like a frog.
Your footwork is neat and tidy,
And you don't mess up at all.

 

Then it's over as soon as it began,
You head to Kiss and Cry
with your coach to wait for telltale marks
On your performance from critical eyes.

 

The announcement is made,
You did it, you won!
So as you stand on the podium tonight,
Don't forget all you had to do to get this done.

 

Tonight, it was special,
But I hope you realize every night can be too.
Because if you try hard, keep a positive attitude and never give up,
Success, as well as your dreams, will come to you.