Outside Chance
Tonight
I find myself choosing
Between a tough fight
And a soft relinquishing
I have no fear of sweat and blood
Especially my own
I have blinked away the salt and sting before
I have tasted that sanguine tincture on my tongue
Just as I have gritted and grinned
Guffawed even at the shattering
Of my own sanity
While I shook it off
And got to the business
Of setting it back into place
With a quick jerk, and a wince
Harder still is this, stepping back
And letting his fist fly just beyond me
Leaving only that slight breeze
Which carries with it a faint scent of sweat
And deflated fury
Directing my swollen gaze downward
I let myself listen, for an instant
To shocked silence
A moment of pure possibility
While we wait
To see what move I choose next
Tonight I find myself
-a.r.
Photograph: Boxing-2, by Kalel Koven
sometimesihatemycat 
I enjoy your poem. And I have to say, you use just a few of my favorite words: grit, grin, wince, sanguine. And, you also teach me a new one I like: guffawed.
Thank you. I like those words as well. I so glad you enjoyed, and thanks for saying so.
I can be in your corner. Or your opponent. Or your biggest fan. Or just rub you down when it is done.
Great stuff
Thank you and thanks for all the offers. However most of the time I end up fighting against myself, on my own, as my own support. Isn’t that the way life usually ends up? It seems that is the case, I might as well be strong enough to be all of those things. Thanks for reading and for enjoying it.
It is always more than a oleasure.
I enjoyed reading this poem. To capture action in a poem, quite amazing. You make it feel real and the ending that’s simply stunning. loved this! 🙂
Thank you. I really enjoyed writing the action, which is physical and metaphorical, or course. It is always so hard to pause and breathe for a moment before the next action, isn’t it….especially when the whole body screams for reaction. I am glad you are reading and am enjoying your comments.