I Want a Coach
by Mariah Burton Nelson    

I want a coach: a big
coach, smarter, tougher, more honest
than I am, a coach with
guts, with a finger pointing
at my heart, saying, You're better
than you think you are. Do this.
Yes. You can.

I don't need love.
Others love me
enough. I want to be led.
To lean on someone else a while --
four years maybe, like in high school,
college, when all I had to do
was lace my high-tops, show up at the gym
then listen, execute, soar.
I worked hard, sure.
But I love working hard.
Don't we all, when we love
the work itself, the learning,
when we trust the person who's telling us
what to do, and when?

Now I want to soar again
and not alone.
I want someone to care where
I place my fingers
the exact arc of the ball as it
rises toward the basket.

Who can answer this question:
"Where should I go?"
Is there such a being?
I want to take my doubt and deliver it
to my coach, place it tenderly
in the circle at center court
and let go.
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First published in Two Points newsletter, with these Two Points:

Point #1: Many of us long for someone to tell us what to do.

Point #2: Poems mean different things to different people. I hope you enjoy this poetic change of pace.

Note to Literal, Left-Brain Readers
   I am not seeking assistance from an executive coach, life coach, or basketball coach. :-) See Points #1 and #2.

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