No, no, I can imagine! Many days hence
There was an after-school program to learn self-defense.
At the corner with the long shop window,
Sensei George kept the local dojo.
Like Adventists in their storefront worship,
See us children behind glass learn to vanquish!
Then superlative George at lesson’s end
In grave oration conveyed the discipline
And restraint we’d now be most needful of
That our fists were turned to deadly weapons.
The point is that I can imagine you
In stiff cotton uniform at jiu-jitsu,
The doublet closed by a belt (yours is white,
Color bestowed on the novitiate)
Your eyes and their perceptiveness
Narrowed as you raise your foot and pivot —
How high you kick! You level a steady punch!
And at rest you stand, feet shoulder-width apart.