The Come Back

He stands, keen-eyed, surveying the scene,
Although powerless to intervene.
His eyes, they take in everything.
But he is still, like an eagle with a broken wing.
Once magnificent in flight,
He, for now, stands to the side
Of what should be his hunting ground
And analyses every sound,
Every movement, every breeze.
His concentration is the key
To his failure or his success,
And to becoming (again) the best.

Every factor in account,
He turns away to think about
How the one time he got it wrong
Incapacitated him so long
That he had to study again
Techniques he’d known for over ten
Good years of knowing how to do
Just anything he’d needed to.

Running on a moonlit road,
His movements now no longer slowed,
He knows his strength is coming back
And very soon he’ll wear the black
Adornment of his place again
And be part of the team again
And hear them shout his name again
And fly, soar like an eagle again.