I cut sixty days my senior year —
failed english, tanked math —

was given the choice of summer school
or ten licks with the paddle,

nickname The Enforcer –
the Excalibur of Central High.

Who gives the licks? I asked.
The vice principal smiled

and raised her diminutive hand.
I laughed. “I’ll take the licks then.”

How bad could it be, I thought
bending over to grab my ankles,

diploma within easy reach,
not knowing she came from

a prodigious tennis family.