Hockey Ball (The)

A cloudless night, the stars sharp pricks of light,
Against the wintry dark, tomorrow would see
Frost, it's piercing tooth of cold incising
Deep through every heart, the hockey pitches
Cold and unforgiving underfoot.

The boys found, on that desolate white,
A hockey ball, quite unlike the soft and supple
Tennis balls with which we used to play.
Kicked hard it slammed into the wooden back
Of the hockey goal, the sound resounding,
Echoing off the solid walls of the school,
The sudden violence breaking the silence,
Of that bleak and frozen morning on the icy
Pitches.