Poet in the Post: Manute Bol

As tall as you were--
seventy-eight inches
from head to toe--
it was difficult
not to appear
as a shepherd
anywhere.

They say you killed a lion
with a spear,
so what was there to fear
in the thunder
of Charles Barkley
or the lightning
of Spud Webb?

Dr. J may have dissected
the hardwood,
but the human heart
is a more delicate patient,
that only those who have tasted
The Air Up There
can hope to heal.

God bless,
Manute Bol,
for having blessed us.