i am watching figure skating

without commentary

how am i to know what to think?

how am i to know what i see?

i was not prepared for this, no voiceover

to tell me the names, chain together leap and spin

with tales of how this person chose

this music, this program, this choreography

my own lexicon is unpracticed, i am down

at the first two-foot landing

did she touch the ice too swiftly?

is she disappointed, can you tell

that was a hard skate for her? i can’t tell

i have not followed her through years

and do not know her coach, her colleagues

her lineage, her spin.

i watch flat footed

missing narration, like you miss that aunty

the one who annoys you with back story

about how every moment, every choice

every thing a young one does is just like…

just because… obviously shows…

you can tell… that comes from…

without that voice, i do not know

how to judge, and worse,

i did not expect this loneliness.

The image here comes from Pixabay.com. They provide an amazing array of really great Creative Commons licensed images. This one is by Naobim from Japan