- R. Nelly
There is a labyrinth of bodies on the hardcourt
Letting the stars of the night
Flow through their game, in the air
Of the beautiful evening.
The calling of the soul and the heart
Is in the orange orb flying around the court
Wielded by soldiers of destiny grinding on the thick
Weathered concrete arena. Cracks everywhere to
Be found, rumbling under the smooth Swoosh of Nike
And the bold Icon of Jordan chartering the court as if it was a new maze
And the rain comes in the middle of the night
Redirecting the light in millions and millions
Of directions like lights of a camera fashing in the eyes of the ballas
Like Mike swishin’ the winner in front of the entire world —
In front of the entire universe — playing for entirely humanity’s sake
Hooping into the heart of the nightclouds that can’t be seen
In the blackness that surrounds, so thick that all their mamas are
Waiting and calling at home, worrying about their boys
In the middle of the night,
In the rain, lightning
In the thundering music
The ballas remain dancin’ to the pulse of the game
Steppin’ with a splash and singin’ with glistening wonder
And the labyrinth of bodies in music
Becomes more intricate
More unbelievable and foreign as the clean rain pours
Bodies working like well-oiled machines,
Engines of a great, new invention
Competition without destruction and hate
Thefts, rejections and love mixing on the asphalt of the court
Creating something more than human —
A society of brothers never known on this earth
Secretly, something that the entire world dreams for
A warm, metaphysical society
In the middle of the night
And the rain pours down
With their entire soul, they fly
Like great hawks to the mile-high goal
Worries leaving in a mad rush from the body
Erupting in ever-continuing explosions of steamy perspiration
Through the pores of ever-continuing life
So clear is the music of the game, bodies moving to a rhythm
Smoother than jazz, more style than the most experienced clubber
Under the clouds of the night, the globe shines with
Fiery luminescence with every pass, dribble and throwdown
Of the boys
Baptized in the rain of the night
