Edward Hirsh's poem, Fast Break, portrays a quick and highly detailed sequence in a basketball game through the use of vivid imagery exemplifying both powerful actions contrasted by graceful movements. The powerful verbs such as "exlodes" and "racing" used to describe the players convey the fast paced movment of the game. In contrast, expressions such as "kisses the rim" and "laying it gently against the glass" demonstrate the artful quality of the game. The constant transition between these two types of language mimics the beatiful yet highly physical elements of a Fast Break.
Yusef Komunyakaa's "Slam Dunk, & Hook" describes a different type of basketball; one which is less syncronized and beatiful, yet has deep emotional value. Backyard basketball in this poem is described through the author's use of greek allusion and expressions that describe a clash of forces such as "tangled up in a falling" and "we knew we were beatiful and dangerous." While Hirsh's poem illustrates the syncronization of two opposite qualities, Komunyakaa's poem identifies two different qaulities of the game of basketball and leaves them in a contrasting state.
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