THE KEEPERS OF DENIAL (Sestina)

Sestina number one :) 01 12 13

Was it just another save?
Another imprint on the end of the defence?
Silence in the anti-spectrum of the shot?
Pink and purple tattooed the open-ended face
proudly substituted for the first mask,
blotting out the condescension of a goal.

Not that we ever pondered on a goal,
for we condescended just as much with a save.
Not that you would have seen the eyes in the flesh of mask;
I reckon our own defence -
those privy to their partners' open-ended face -
would be hard-pressed to see the squint behind a black-eye-candy-coated shot.

Broken cheek? A battle scar for which we thanked a shot.
Still you wouldn't know a save for a goal
on whatever canvass wrapped our face.
No elation notified the cheap seats of a save
and no beauty greeted our defeated defence,
beat and bailed out by the cheek bone of a mask.

Our chins and jaws were like nuts saved to cash in for a nutcracker. See, the mask
embodied many parts securing an inevitable parting shot.
The most poetic constitution couldn't author a defence
against the crime of a back-breaking goal.
No spine remained to sport on any subsequent save;
by then, a saved puck didn't save face.

Circumstantial artistry defined the degrees to which we chose to face
the so-called facts.  Some have said a mask
wasn't donned to save
our senses from a spiteful shot
but to make generic the reaction to a goal.
Some wondered, are we nursing team or psychological defence?

Colour any black and white system of defence
you tend to lean to after going face-to-face
with the physical salvation of a goal
and the alternative.  How many would decline a mask
when the alternative is the despondent draft from a shot
snuffing out the stoic glory of what's never just another save?

Maybe my retirement will render the dimensions of defence relative behind the mask.
But retirement will not quell the need to bear my face in the presence of another shot:
frozen rubber set aflame by the friction of a goal against a save.

Author's Note

And now for an agonizingly long comment section: first, a quick history lesson for those unfamiliar with hockey or hockey lore:

On November 1, 1959, Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens became the first goalie to wear a mask full-time after a shot ripped - not cut, ripped - his face from the corner of his mouth to the bridge of his nose. At a time when goalies took courageous pride in playing bare-faced - and were expected to play as such - he took a lot of heat for the decision, as everyone from his coaches to fans to his own goaltending brethren questioned his courage. Over the years, masks became artistic vehicles for goalies, who often had them painted with images that reflected their personality. Goalies are by far the most stoic, superstitious, and cerebral players in the game; they don't celebrate after a goal like scorers do, and for these tendencies are generally considered to be quirky characters.

Now a note on the poem itself: this little darling has been all over my notebook in the last month or so...I've wanted to write one of these for literally years now, and I'll tell you, they are not easy, hence the decision to write one around a topic I'm familiar with...it does indeed have some clumsy bits but for now I'm just relieved to have finally done it. Most of this was written under a cloak of sickness that I am yet to successfully shed...I swear that if you get sick in the Winter, you don't truly get better till Spring comes...the circumstances do not allow for a swift recovery, at least not for me...

For the record, that is my mask in the photo.

Reviews

[Ashira Macy]

You were correct, the subject matter was difficult for me as I do not know a thing about hockey other than the fact that it is played with sticks and a puck. BUT I think you did very well in your sestina, and what I like a lot is that you were able to stay poetic and philosophical in this even though the subject and form are more technical. You did a wonderful job, thank you for sharing this with me!

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much Ashira, I really appreciate you taking the time to read it, especially when I knew it would be unfamiliar territory, as it is for the vast majority of people when you think about it ;) But I'm happy that you saw those elements in it, that's what really matters...if I ever try another one it will be more introspective probably...again, thanks so much for the read and the kind words :)

[Ashira Macy]

Always my pleasure to admire your art my friend!

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAutho..]

Preface: Everything I know about hockey I learned from watching movies and watching games on television. I thought the movie "Slap Shot" was great and enjoyed "The Mighty Ducks."

I like how, in the first stanza, you capture the history and culture of the incident that promulgated the first hockey goalie's mask, "Pink and purple tattooed the open-ended face .. we proudly substituted for the first mask."

I appreciate the stitching of the first stanza to the second with the "condescending" thread. It provides a delicate balancing point of emotion for those that take pride in scoring goals as does the goalie when they make a save. Even though, as is said, the passion of the eyes may be hidden by the mask; flesh/expression or material/composite.

In the third stanza there is a sense of thanklessness.. "No elation notified the cheap seats of a save". The goalie is the oft ignored, standing at attention, waiting for chaos to erupt and dealing, in a split-second, with dark impending doom and having done so, eliciting a subdued murmur or random blink more often than not. It's only when the game, the world, teeters on the brink of extinction that they become relevant.

When the game goes against in the third and fourth stanzas - no matter the effort made in saving a shot; again it often seems a thankless token, bestowed upon the defeated - to be ignored as sacrificial, valiant and yet necessarily superfluous. Amplifying the pain all the more.

The fifth and sixth stanzas offer up a philosophical debate or perhaps more a point of view that I am ill equipped to consider and yet I do acknowledge the relevance to the subject at hand. I hope that other readers will ponder, distill and provide suitable comment as is due the sport.

The last three-line stanza is defiant and proud; as it should be. Goalies come and go but the spirit of the position, the need to face the puck, "frozen rubber set aflame" in the eternal contest of "a goal against a save" leaves us with a better understanding of what it takes to play the game, to play this position. After all, this is about hockey, isn't it?

P.S. Many thanks for the superb Author's Notes, khan. Without those I should not have been able to comprehend as much and enjoy this magnificent work. Oh, and now I have assimilated yet a bit more of the wondrous vocabulary of the poet, "Sestina." Who knew such things existed? :)

[kublakhan27]

Best review ever, man...I feel like I was just inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame :D

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

A poet and a goalie! Now there's an odd combination if there ever was one. :D

[kublakhan27]

If you played the position, you'd be shocked there are not more of us :D

[quinfinn]

i love hockey, and vaguely remember your story, but glad you wrote about things for poetry and posterity. by the way...how'd you like those Hampton Roads Admirals last year? some of those records may never be broken....

[kublakhan27]

Many thanks...yes that was an impressive campaign :)

[Frieda P]

Interesting read, I've learned something I knew little about. My son played, not professionally, him and his buddies were addicted and would rent the rink out at
3 AM when the rates when down low. I was always worried he'd break something and I was right, of course. Went to one game, sat right behind the glass, that was thrilling and frightening at the same time. Nice read, nice mask, thanks for enlightening me.

[kublakhan27]

Oh yes, I've played many of those after-hours games lol :P It's a fascinating position...you get these quick ultra-intense moments followed by moments of absolute inactivity :P You would not believe the volume of ideas I've compiled while watching the game go on up the other end though ;) Mind you I've endured several ailments along the way also...

[gombeggar]

ahh...so glad for your afterward...i thought i was imagining this was all about hockey...now everything is much more clear and i can say well done work of poetry here

[kublakhan27]

Many thanks as always :)

[Phillitup]

I love reading things that are centered around things that the author really cares about. They are truly thought out and creative! I love the mask in your photo. Nicely penned. Best regards,
Dell

[kublakhan27]

Many thanks, I appreciate it :)

[Felicity's Eve]

This is incredible. Writing about something you love is great and you executed this poem brilliantly. :)

Totally awesome mask, btw ^^

[kublakhan27]

Thank you Nora, I appreciate the kind words :)

[Felicity's Eve]

:)