Do-over Man
3 seconds left
He moves to the right
The invisible man goes with him
Long shot, jump shot
Just past fingers
He’s just a bit out of rhythm
Game over
A loss by one
He grabs the ball for a reset
3 seconds left…
He moves to the left
And he finally splits the net
The crowd erupts
With their silent joy
From their pent up anticipation
They’ve been waiting
An hour through 26 tries
To show their appreciation
Riding the bench
This time it’s real
The fourth game of the season
Down by thirty
He gets checked in
He’s confident for one reason
He knows that
The secret of all success
Is to try and try some more
So he’s gonna take
All the shots he needs
One by one until he scores
Top of the key
He’s passed the ball
He throws up a jumper. Not close.
Way out of bounds
Two feet from the goal
They laugh but he’s laughing the most
He chases it down
Takes it back to his spot
And yells at the top of his voice
“Do-over, man!”
They obey his command
As if they have no choice
Both teams go back
To the start of the play
And they reenact it again
He’s passed the ball
He throws up a jumper
That still does not go in
“Do-over, man!”
And they do it again
8 more times redialed
But on number 9
He swishes the shot
And the crowd goes really wild
He’s bored in class
He’s day drifting off
The teacher calls him to attention
“Jeff, can you tell us
What I just showed the class
Or would you like to sign up for detention?”
“That’s the third time
You’ve slept in my class
What do you have to say?”
“Do-over, ma’am”
And she turns to the board
And erases the sentence away
He never
Cleans his room up
He ‘do-over, mom'’s it away
She brings it up
He says three words
They repeat this every day
Since he can’t
Lose at a game
An argument or a bet
He does these
Things all the time
To see what he can get
Too young to
Bet on horses
He wagers games of horse
He cleans out
All his classmates
And needs bigger stakes of course
He takes
A bus downtown
Skipping class one afternoon
And he walks
Along the streets
Hoping to find a game soon
The buildings
Seem to dwarf him
With their towering decay
They’re all sprayed
With different markings
That seem to scream ‘Please, go away!’
He walks along
Feigning toughness
Scanning for some life sign
He tells himself
His powers should
Protect him at all times
Finally
He spots it
A court swelled with giant men
And with the
Do-over in his pocket
He approaches to use it again
“Which of you
Guys is the best?
I need a challenge to test my skills”
“Now, I only
Play for money
So, let’s say we put up 20 bills”
They laugh
And don’t respond
So, he keeps to his pre-rehearsed speech
“Horse is my game”
He pulls out his cash
“Time for school, I’ve come here to teach”
They laugh harder
And he begins shaking
He starts to do a recall
Then the tallest
Man he’s ever seen
Steps forward and hands him a ball
“Everyone gets
One chance here
It’s put-up or shut-up for real”
“So, you lose”
You pay and go home
Or else you get paid and stay, ya’ feel?
Jeff nods then goes
To the top of the key
He throws up a hook shot that clunks
He bellows out
“Do-over, men!”
And it seems the scene pauses at once
It’s really
No more than 2 seconds
To him it seems more like 2 days
The tall man
Grabs the rebound
And gives him a thousand yard gaze
In that instant he
Doubts for the last time
The powers that do-over brings
In that instant
His mind is on punches
And kicks and more terrible things
The tall man
Passes the ball back
Not a single word of trouble
Jeff’s twenty
Soon becomes forty
Than eighty and twice more doubles
He takes a
Cab back home
While relaxing on the ride
Stronger
Than ever before
He feels a sense of pride
No longer
Is he just a kid
Now he’s better than even adults
It’s no longer
Something to question
It’s clear from all results
They always
Tell you that
You should do your very best
So just like
‘Try again’
He decides to give this a test
“I will obtain
Great wealth and power”
He makes this vow to himself
“And I’ll never
Ride a bus again
Or work for anyone else”
As soon
As he gets home
He starts sketching out his plot
He scribbles
On the walls
He’s so excited by his thoughts
1st step:
Hire a driver
A junior or senior on loan
To take him
Around the city
To courts where he’s unknown
2nd step:
Hire an adult
To place bets for him at the track
A man to stand
With after races
While exchanging the tickets back
3rd step:
Hire a brain trust
The chess club might be cool
And see if they
Can hatch a scheme
For him to test his way out of school
4th step:
Bodyguards
You can never have enough
The more cash
That he takes in
The more things could get rough
He smiles
At his blueprint
And it seems to smile with him
“This is how
It starts” he says
“When one man improves the system”
“The rules
Stop most people
But they’re not meant for me at all”
“They were
Built for lesser men”
He says this to the wall
Another
Sad casino
This time in Baton Rouge
He’s at
The Blackjack table
Almost wishing he could lose
A teenage
Millionaire
A tycoon at twenty one
And bored
To death already
Where nothing feels like fun
“Fifteen”
“Hit me. Do-over, hit me.
“Do-over, hit me” “Twenty” ”Stand”
Jeff slowly
Rubs his face
Against the palm of his hand
Then faintly
He hears a voice
For once that’s not humdrum
“Re-do, hit me!”
“Re-do!” he stands
And scans for where it’s coming from
To his right
Two tables back
A lovely young woman sits
Amidst
A cheering group
And a tremendous pile of chips
He stares
At once enchanted
He moves and joins the crowd
He yells
At every blackjack
And he feels some kind of proud
It feels like
They’re connected
This winner girl and he
He thinks
‘I’ve been waiting for her
I’m sure she’s been waiting for me’
The house stops
Her game at last
Afraid of what’s in store
“Miss, I’m told
We have to ask you
To cash out and leave the floor”
She says
“I understand
I thank you for this chance”
While her group
Collects her chips
And he makes his advance
“Hi, miss.
My name’s Jeff West
I’d like a moment of your time”
“No thanks”
“Do-over, miss”
“No thanks. I’m running behind”
The answer
Stops him cold
While hot blood floods his frame
“I’m sorry.
Do-over, miss”
And her answer stays the same
“No thanks”
And she walks away
Leaving his jaw gaping
He isn’t
Deterred a bit
No chance this girl is escaping
When she leaves
He has her followed
By one of his best goons
He goes home
To ask his council
The perfect way to make her swoon
“This girl
Is very special
Not like any of the rest”
“I need to
Blow her away
I demand you all bring me your best!”
He orders
A week of intel
On her whereabouts and ways
He discovers
That’s she’s a waitress
And a saint on her off days
She goes hiking
With children & seniors
She rescues dogs abused
He screams
In his 5 acre mansion
“Bring me something that I can use!”
She gambles
To help Africa:
Mosquito nets and wells
She doesn’t
Keep a penny
Not as his top agent tells
He shakes
His head in pity
Such a waste of brilliant skill
For money
Grows more money
If you keep your coffers filled
He calls in
The head of his brain trust
And demands their great ideas
Who tells him
He can win her heart
And do it with some ease
“She’s given
About 2 million
To charity in all of her life”
“We propose
You give 10 million
To her causes and make her your wife”
“A girl like her
Needs marriage
It’ll show her you’re not just a player
“If you’re
Willing to do that
There’s little doubt that you can sway her”
He nods
And says “Make it 20”
“And rent the baseball park”
“Get an orchestra
And some fireworks
And set up a meeting after dark
A week passes
And it’s all ready
The entire presentation
For one
Miss Corinne Carter
And six good organizations
Jeff hasn’t felt
Nervous in years
But this is one exception
It’s crazy
To think of proposing
To a woman who could reject him
The orchestra
Plays beautifully
An inspired overture
At home plate
Stand the CEOS
And to their left is her
The stands
Are nearly empty
Save for a few reporters
He strolls
Out to a rolling beat
To suit his marching orders
She looks
Lovely, very regal
Just perfect for a queen
He admires
Her perfection
Set amongst his perfect scene
The checks
Arrive to flashbulbs
And merry corporate grins
And then
Jeff asks Ms. Carter
To step forward and towards him
He meets her
In the middle
And kneels upon the plate
And then
With a flash of doubt
He asks her… for one date
The fireworks
Light up the sky
The orchestra plays Swan Lake
And Corinne says
“No, I’m sorry. No.”
And he calls for a re-take
He then says
“Marry me, Corinne”
As music soars and embers fall
She says
“No, are you crazy!?
I don’t even like you at all”
He looks up
In deep confusion
This clearly isn’t right
He stands
And says quite sharply
“You sure know how to ruin a night”
“I don’t have to
Feel bad for you, Jeff
You can make anything go away”
“You’re right
Including the money
Now what do you have to say?
“If you’d cancel it now
Then you would’ve later
We can do without it. That’s fine”
“I know what
Type of man you are
And I’m just sorry you wasted our time”
“I could do more
Than you’ve ever done
To help poverty and neglect”
“You may feel
Ungrateful but
You should pretend to give me respect”
“You get respect
When you earn it
Pretending is your thing not mine”
“I don’t respect kids
Who plays games like this
I respect a real man with a spine”
She walks
Off the field to a fanfare
Just as he ordered on cue
He yells: “DO-OVER, MAN!”
And: “SHUT UP THE BAND!”
As he sulks off to start anew
He tries his best
To distract himself
He flys in Cirque du soleil
But he changes
His mind before they begin
And he sends them all away
He orders
Giant statues
In his image to feel good
And then
Changes them all
To centaurs just to lighten up the mood
He buys
A chain of restaurants
Just so he can fire the staff
In particular
One rude waitress
Who thinks she got the last laugh
He can’t stop
Thinking about her
Especially when he tries
Everything else
Is a fading thrill
Why can’t she realize?
That they
Belong together?
The gifted can’t settle for less
She couldn’t
Be happy with an average man
That would only bring her stress
He calls
In his best accountant
And asks for his current net worth
“Currently
30 billion, sir
You’re the 10th richest man on Earth”
“But at your
Current rate of growth
In a year you’ll top the list”
“There’s nothing
That you couldn’t buy
It literally doesn’t exist”
“Contact
Ms. Corinne Carter
For a meeting at a place of her choosing”
“Bring all my
Financial records
I’m getting very sick of losing”
It takes
About a month
Before Corinne agrees to see him
She instructs
Them to meet her
For lunch at an old museum
She’s there
When they arrive
With a coffee, reading a book
When he walks
In with his five men
She doesn’t stop to look
Finally
She glances up
At the mob across the table
She says
“I’ll love reading Poe
For as long as I am able”
“I’ll let you
Say what you want
Then I will say what I feel”
“Hopefully
That ends things
And we can both move on for real”
Jeff nods
To his left
Two briefcases are lifted
And set
Upon the table
And in them papers are sifted
“Mr. West
Has a proposal
We think you’ll find it compelling”
The tall man
Says while nodding
“Here is what we’re selling:”
“The largest
Gift to charity
By far that ever was”
“Ten billion
Make it twenty
And we’ll do it just because”
“We believe
In what you’re doing
And we believe in helping out”
“And all
That we need from you
Is to believe without a doubt”
“That Mr. West
Is a better partner
Than any that you’ll ever find”
“And that both of you
Could change the world
That’s if you’re so inclined”
“He only asks
For commitment
For you to make a pledge to him”
“A pledge
Of love and
Faithfulness and devotion to begin”
“We’ve drawn
Up here a contract
That guarantees those billions”
“And if you
Miss Carter sign it
You’re guaranteeing the lives of millions”
“We know
You’re very selfless
We’ve studied your career”
“And you
Could do no greater good
Than with the chance we’re giving here”
“No”
Corinne says bluntly
Without a moment’s consideration”
“No chance
And I’ll tell you why
So I can end this conversation”
“You don’t
Understand this gift
Though it’s special and really quite pure”
“You’re not special, Jeff
There are many like you
You’re just likely the most immature”
“In the end
You don’t even matter
You could do quite a lot if you’d try”
“But the money you keep
Will just shift somewhere else
And nothing will change when you die”
“These paintings
That hang all around us
Any one of them means more than you
“And tomorrow
Or in one hundred years
That statement will still hold true”
“I’m not nice
All of the time
I hope that’s something that I’m revealing”
“I do good things
Because I want to
But right now I want to hurt your feelings”
“If you
Insult me again
By trying to buy my affection”
“I’ll contact
Some powerful friends
And you’ll need to beef up your protection”
Jeff looks
Around at his men
All of them are looking down
Yes-men
Are good for many things
But not when you need friends around
Corinne
Gathers her things
But stops before walking away
She looks
Him square in the eye
And has one more thing to say
“I do have
One question:
How did you figure it out?”
“I ask
Everyone with the gift
It’s just something I wonder about”
He tries
To convey his contempt
Through his eyes but hers are so fine
He just
Stares with stupid longing
Hating himself the whole time
“I’ll give you
Mine if that helps
I was eight and I yelled at my mother”
“I told her
That I hated her
And she looked like she’d never recover”
“I started
Yelling: ‘I’m sorry!
Re-do, Re-do!’ And her tears just drained”
“It made me
Realize that second chances
Are like a magic cure for pain”
She pauses
In her radiance
He stares back feeling dumb
He stammers
For some words
And finally finds some
“I was just
Playing basketball
I wanted to take more shots”
“Huh
That’s kind of pathetic
But I guess it explains a lot”
She walks away
And Jeff rubs his face
Until his man speaks up
“I think that
We went low with the offer
If it’s doubled that should be enough”
“Do you think so?”
Jeff asks sincerely
“We could do that by next year”
“I’m not losing
I know that much
I’m Jeff West. A man without peer”
“And we should
Buy this museum
She seems to be crazy for art”
“Money
And persistence, men
The key to any woman’s heart!”