Ringside
Onlookers always share thoughts
from the comfort of their seats
where they are spared
the sweat and spit
from the bloody match below.
How easy it must be to speak
from the stands.
The view is panoramic
and it’s second nature to seek
everyone’s surrounding opinions.
A moving jaw isn’t met with a fist.
In the ring it is quick
to remind a fighter that a hit
takes precedence over thought
and speech,
that focus must stay front
and center,
instead of on throws
coming from behind
where words come so easy
from mouths as bloodless
as their faces stay unscathed.
-Shakira Sison
