Smuggs ’14 Chronicle, Day 6: July 30, 2014

by Frank J. Tassone · 2 May 2019

She serves from half-court. I return forearm. She backhands it over the net. I race into position and pivot, delivering the best backhand of our volley. Did she return it? Did I?

Getting water later, I say, “We’ve progressed from terrible to rotten.”

Tennis court bathed in sunlight slapping sounds

We return from the country store with a fresh loaf of bed—and from outfitters with a new pair of sunglasses. Mira prepares another European-style cheese/meat platter for lunch. We toast each other with the last of our white zin.

Classical music goat cheese and prosciutto under clouds

Photo by Aaina Sharma

Frank J. Tassone

Frank J. Tassone lives in New York City's "back yard" with his wife and son. He fell in love with writing after he wrote his first short story at age 12 and his first poem in high school. He began writing haiku and haibun seriously in the 2000s. His haikai poetry has appeared in Failed Haiku, Cattails, Haibun Today, Contemporary Haibun Online, Contemporary Haibun, The Haiku Foundation and Haiku Society of America member anthologies. He is a contributing poet for the online literary journal Image Curve, and a performance poet with Rockland Poets. When he's not writing, Frank works as a special education high school teacher in the Bronx. When he's not working or writing, he enjoys time with his family, meditation, hiking, practicing tai chi and geeking out to Star Wars, Marvel Cinema and any other Sci-Fi/Fantasy film and TV worth seeing.