An Outside Chance

The guys held out hope
that through plain luck or accident
they might suddenly discover
they were brilliant at golf—a stellar success.
Any future afternoon might find them
on the green, irons and woods turning to gold.
They ignored the usual course for triumph,
formulas of training and time,
banked on the promise of the prodigal,
the fortuitous rush of unexpected skill (plus money).
The trick was not to try, not to find out yet.

The possibilities tantalized: triple axels,
chart-topping novels, Oscar statuettes.
Even the links were tempting—
but I kept to the devil I knew,
stuck with the barre, trusted
that if another fate came along,
I’d have sense enough to know it.