“I have seen many heroic and amazing performances in countless Olympic Games in my lifetime. None will ever compare to this gymnastics routine I witnessed as a young father.“

Her first gymnastics' meet it was.
	I won't forget the date.
Just three weeks prior to Christmas,
	She was three months shy of eight.

On floor, vault, bars and beam that day,
	Would all the girls compete.
I hoped she was more calm than me
	As I looked for a seat.

Her team began the meet with Floor.
	It started right on time.
I watched the first five girls perform;
	The sixth one up was mine.

A smart salute... "My lord, she's cute!"
	I heard somebody say.
Now on the mat, she, soundless, waits
	To hear her music play.

Someone shouts encouragement,
	And she gives not a glance,
But, like a sculpted statue, she
	Maintains a practiced stance.

The music starts.  I hold my breath.
	The air is thick it seems.
And, for me, the world has stopped
	To watch this first routine.

She moves with practiced confidence,
	Her first steps crisp and clean,
Unfazed by those who watch her
	From the stands or on her team.

I watch this tiny princess now,
	So polished on the floor,
Each movement made with style and grace
	To match the music's score.

My heart soars with each leap she makes,
	And dips with every roll.
My stomach's doing somersaults
	Which I cannot control.

Her exercise is near the end,
	Her face now free of care.
She executes the final moves
	With skillful strength and flair.

She tumbles to her final bow,
	Theatric by design.
The music stops.  The crowd stands up!
	She knows that she's done fine.

I might have held the tears in then,
	At least a little while,
If, when she turned her face to me,
	I hadn't seen that smile.

The smile, unlike her floor routine,
	Was slightly flawed, you see.
It lacked one baby front tooth, which
	Had come out recently.

That precious imperfection
	In that moment, in that gym,
Triggered an emotion which
	My face could not defend.

I can't explain the reason, and
	It matters not to me.
Pride, perhaps, or simply joy,
	To share that victory.

Life can't hold many moments
	That can match that one for me.
It's safely stored forever, now,
	Within my memory.