Round Ball Dreams

The new NBA season started Tuesday;
A short meditation on small beginnings.
(And yes, I forgot today would be Halloween
so there's no horror poem. As if 
Dogged By the Curse isn't enough... ;-)

One round ball,
A peach basket hung on a wall, and
A piece of paper with 13 rules.
Such a simple beginning
For a worldwide sport
Worth billions of dollars each year.
Forget the business for a moment…
How many weekend athletes
Found a reason to face each day
Because they found
A few moments of glory
Playing against friends?
How many kids
Found sanctuary from bad influences
Because of a hoop in a vacant lot?
How many scholarships
Has that round ball supplied
For kids with no other hope of college?
That's a lot of dreams from
One round ball,
A peach basket hung on a wall, and
A piece of paper with 13 rules.