Three Balls

In tennis, when a player serves

He gets a second chance

In case the ball goes out of bounds

Set in the court’s expanse.

 

Before his first serve, he must have

A second ball at hand,

Kept in a pocket so he can

Produce it on demand.

 

As he walks toward the server’s box

The ball boy sends his way

Three tennis balls, one at a time;

He needs just two to play.

 

The player holds all three and then

The bounces one ball back.

The ball boy scoops it up and then

The game is back on track.

 

I always wonder how the player

Knows which two to use

For it should make no difference

In the game which ones he’d choose.

 

And yet this ritual repeats

Each time a player serves.

If I worked as a ball boy

It would sure get on my nerves.