The Magnificent Obsession

I admit to being a tennis fan.
I do what I must to reach each tourney held in the near.
I study the match draws with chromatic purity,
nomadic lust, and...
embarrassing regularity.

At this moment the Australian Open is on the march.
Brilliant, hot sunlight streaming from the tube,
I turn up the heat, put on summer shorts
and my beautiful aviator Ray-Bans (circa 1986).

...and the Melbourne beacon beams into my home.

The dentist calls, tells me I wasn't there.
The bathroom, which I'm painting anew, remains in chaos.
My wife comes home from work, finds no bread, no milk.
I need to write my five hundred words,
but the screen is empty,
my pencil still sharp.

...slowly losing so many points.

Telecast begins at four, I'm up at five,
watching...
watching...