Revelation
Dad told us a story when
We were kids, about a classmate
When he was in seminary,
A Japanese-American,
Which added an extra dimension
Since this was just after THE WAR.
He would tell the tale when we
Were playing ping pong in the
Parsonage basement, with poles
On either side of the table and a huge
Oil furnace behind one lucky player.
His friend had fallen behind 20-0,
A remarkable thing in itself,
If you have ever played ping pong.
But he looked at Dad and said,
I will not give up,
And he scored the next point.
Again he said, I will not give up.
And one can only imagine
The determined look in his eyes,
The total concentration it took
To come all the way back
And then win the game,
Saying I will not give up.
It became the sermon in the basement.
The lesson we must somehow learn,
Till one night when I was eleven
Or twelve and Dad was making
A big comeback, saying I will not
Give up that I had an epiphany
And I blurted out, Dad, how could you
Ever let anybody come back from
20-0? And then I put him away.
