Summary Of Jack Ridl's Poem 'At Fifty'

Jack Ridl uses symbolism in his poems to give an insight into the sporting world. In his poem “At Fifty” he describes the hardship of growing older and not being able to achieve things he once could. “Bad Night at Practice” shows basketball from a different view, that of a star wanting to quit. Lastly He uses imagery of players shooting, dribbling, fans cheering, and the basketball itself to show the many aspects of the game. By reading his poems to show the decline in physical ability as you age, the trials of competition, and how hard work can pay off; the reader can see how Ridl use imagery, symbolism, and syntax to show a glimpse of the sporting world.
In many of Jack Ridl’s poems a common use of imagery is used to convey the frustrated

He’s missed ten/ in a row”(1-3). This shows how frustrated the coach is with his age and inability to play at the level he once could. Later in this poem the coach is remembering how good he used to be. Ridl paints an image all basketball player know to show the coach in his prime, “Coach sits down at/ the top of the key, stares, see himself/ bringing it up against the press, faking,/ shaking his shoulders, stutter stepping, shifting/ the ball left hand to right, then back, then up,/ legs exploding, wrist firing, and the ball/ looping up, down through the hoop”(18-23). This use of verbs strung together creates a vivid picture of a skilled point guard driving down the lane and finishing with a floater. This also shows how frustrating it must be now for the coach at fifty when he can’t even make a couple shots from his drive way. I really enjoy how he

The symbolism in this poem is showing that that even if you work really hard for something in life sometimes things won’t work out. Ridl shows this when he writes, “The others/ went to look for something/ else to do, wished/ they’d never tried”(41-44). The coach also is symbolizing god because he decides whether these players live or day in a basketball sense. Ridl shows that when puts the word god in where coach could have been: “God said,/ ‘Smith,’ and Smith/ walked on among the/ elect”(21-24).“First Cut” uses lots of imagery through out the poem to show this painful process. He talks about how some held out until the last moment to see if they made the team due to the fact that they dread it. He also uses imagery to show how it is easy if you are a star and you can sleep well. However, if you are a bad player or just unsure you are going to make it then the process creates lots of anxiety and dread. Ridl shows that well but talking about how some players lay at night awake and how they some waited because of their dread to go see the list. I have experienced this at my old school Jenison in seventh grade because I tried out with sixty-seven other guys and only twenty-four made it. We had two days to prove ourselves and the process was unfair. This made me dread tryouts for anything from then on. The syntax of this poem helps show the process of actually going