sacrificed decades,
played with pros for crumbs,
shot ball with bums in slums,
and even matriculated for 4 years
of graduated run;
For the love of the game:
suffered pain and injury,
sprains and surgery,
but through the grace of God,
always received recovery;
For the love of the game:
left family and friends
trying to acquire those
means to justify the ends,
suffered loses on many different levels,
but
For the love of the game:
continue to tie laces
and strap on knee braces;
For the love of the game:
sustained a sane mind frame,
battled with opponents
usually they left disappointed...
Through the perils, trails, tribulations,
and relocations I still love the game;
since a young age this fuel has pumped
through my veins, giving me the strength
to battle constantly, daily, with foes, enemys,
and adversaries that discreetly want to bury me,
but my game is strong from all the days and nights
I practiced long;
For the love of the game:
I've retrained from
banging with thugs and gangs
to balling to avoid the traps of the cage;
For the love of the game:
I've changed, no longer
out of control,
slowed down to balance my soul
For the love of the game:
traveled far,
met many different faces
from plenty different places,
played in front of massive crowds
where most were racist,
but it was all...