Retreat
(fighting fragility)
Muay Thai.
Kickboxing.
Jujitsu.
All new.
My partner is a hammer,
I am the nail.
Heat is a teacher.
I—the melting pupil.
Breath screaming,
shirt soaked to skin.
Who says yes to this?
Then, I move him.
Takedown.
A violent reversal.
A hard bed never so soft.
A simple fan,
better than aircon.
Rice, beans, pollo—
fuel enough
to see tomorrow.
Up before the youngsters.
Calming ancient injuries.
Seeing the sun not through glass.
A life beyond screens and schedules.
I strike my shadow.
Here they come again—
to hook, elbow, knee, sweep.
Slip, parry, sprawl, roll.
Repeat.
Back on my back,
on the mat,
brawling with myself.
The boy in his first schoolyard fight.
He is the one
who says yes.