A swelling din is heard around the mountain-watched Northwest and travel

from coast to coast, until they are heard all over the land.

 

Aye! aye came the roaring cry, once, twice, thrice, and circling the entire land,

                              again.

 

O roaring Hec, O roaring Hec, O roaring Hec, O roaring Hec, the stars have come

To ol’ Hec, and shooting stars fall like confetti from the rafters. The stars have come to Ol’ Hec, and a shower of meteor light heralds our fearsome roar. O stars, O stars, O stars.

 

The hapless opponent could not stop the moving flood, and ere we had warmed

to the comfort of our seats, the sorry team though fighting valiantly was down

3-love. Mastery comes from attention to detail. Mastery comes from hours spent alone

& with others on the practice court, and moves, feints, and sundry maneuvers accumulate

like raindrops in a bucket. O like raindrops in a bucket. O like raindrops in a bucket,

until the bucket of skill and mastery is overflowing with the killing hand, with the killing

move, with the killing gesture. O take me to the court of mastery, let me learn and be a star. O take me to the court of mastery, let me learn in arduous hours the secret of star fires. Let me learn in arduous hours the secret of star fires. O star fire. O star fire. O star fire.

 

A merry company we were then when we left the court, and atop our merry flag,

We hoisted legends in praise of our darling team. We sang. We gamboled. We sang.

 

The song of the spheres was in our ears, starlight lit the length and breadth of the storied

                                                   campus.

 

Ah—

Dawg land

dawg land

dawg land

 

Old Socrates appeared before us again like the gray-bearded Zephyr, and raising

His ancient but sturdy hand like a pole hoisting a flag to ol’ Aeolus of Thessaly,

Said again in a trilling, but steady voice—

 

Ah, Christal Marie, ah Christal Marie, ah, Christal Marie

 

Wait,

Wait,

Until

She

Begins

To

Burn

The

Dog-eared

Tomes

With the cunning patience of the fabled tortoise

& grow

in the courts

of learning

to the heights

of a sage Mandarin

 

She

Will

Become

A

Double

Weapon,

Star fire in the courts of learning

Queen

Of

The

Wide

Arena

 

O star fire

O star fire

O star fire

 

& then the sweet-singing muses will say of her, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire

She descends from Curie and Godimer, Morrison and Buck

 

O star fires, O star fires, O star fires

 

The stars of the wide arena sing, they sing of Jackie-Joyner Kersee and Mia Hamm

& the vast constellation of stars before them, now with them, and will come after them.

 

Stars, a new star burns now in the firmament, a new star burns now in the circle

Of the ever-burning flame. It sends its rays far and near. It sends its rays to the far-flung

Corners of the earth.

 

—Once when I was a little boy, growing up on a palm-tree-watched island of the Niger

Delta, I looked up to the sky and saw the stars, and my world became bigger

Than anything I could put in words. My world became bigger than Everest, bigger

Than Kilimanjaro, bigger than the thunders of a tempestuous sky, and I dreamt of worlds

Beyond the tiny island. I dreamt of worlds beyond the tiny island, like a flock of birds

Following the star-lined paths of migratory routes.

 

O dreams of a little boy, O dreams of a little boy, O dreams of a little boy

 

Beyond home, away from home, beyond home, away from home, O dreams of a little

boy, beyond home, away from home, beyond home, away from home, the little island

               Boy

Saw the star, and followed the migratory route, like a flock of wild birds.

 

O dreams of a little boy, O dreams of a little boy, O dreams of a little boy—

 

In the outback, in the Andes, in the lands of Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa,

Middle-Eastern lands, & here at home, on the countless islands and archipelagos

Of the earth, in Europe, and in the far-flung reaches of the wide, wide earth,

 

A little girl will see her star, a little girl will see her star, a little girl will see her star

& ordering her ways to the call of the constellation Christal Marie will imagine worlds

greater than her tiny island home, will imagine worlds greater than her tiny island home.

 

O dreams of a little girl, O dreams of a little girl, O dreams of a little girl

 

O Christal Marie, her footprints spread from Dawg land to the far-flung reaches

Of the earth.

 

O Christal Marie, her footprints spread from Dawg land to the far-flung reaches

Of the earth.

 

O dreams of a little girl, O dreams of a little girl, O dreams of a little girl

 

The grizzled sage disappeared in the mantle of ol’ Aeolus, as suddenly

As he had appeared before us.

In his testaments we saw a banner year,

But the year was full of the harrowing songs of broken bones.

Ah, Christal Marie, she went down with a broken bone.

O, Christal Marie, she went down with a broken bone.

But would not go quietly away from the burning fray.

From the deep reaches of a steely strength that will rival that of famed Hercules,

She summoned all her powers and sallied into the fray.

 

O Christal Marie, her guts are made of steel, O Christal Marie, her guts are made

Of fire, O Christal Marie, her guts are like an unbreakable bow.

 

O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire

 

Up to the round of four we went, but it was not to be a banner year

And the orchestra of the spheres bided its time to play the nine wonders of Beethoven’s

                                                 nine symphonies.

 

O dreams of a little girl, O dreams of a little girl, O dreams of a little girl

 

The year danced on with the deliberate feet of a wizened lady, the sun swept across

The vast earth in its unwavering course, and the moon sang a concatenation

Of golden songs in the bosom of romantic rivers.

 

The orchestra of the spheres waited until the year told its unwavering course,

& a mighty cheer swept through Dawg land, the wheels of fortune spun a countless

tales of hard work forged at the foundry of a countless practice games, of lonely moments

spent in lonely gyms, of conferences with Coach J., T., and other coaches, of countless

            moves, of countless moments in player-to-player & player conferences.

 

O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire, O star fire

 

The year rolled on, a steady sweeping tide, as opponents fell by the way

 

Fell left

Fell right

Fell forward

 

& the tide rolled on, & continued to roll, roll, roll, roll on, the tide continued to roll.

 

O dreams of a little girl

O dreams of a little girl

O dreams of a little girl

 

The orchestra of the spheres bided its time, the marvelous wonders of Beethoven’s

Nine symphonies tucked away in the folds of a marvelous anticipation.

 

O star fire

O star fire

O star fire

 

The march began, O forget the bruising tide of a Roman-pincer march, O forget

The bruising tide of a Roman-pincer march, this was a march of marvelous beauty

O this was a march of marvelous beauty, O this was a march of marvelous beauty.

 

Five opponents at the barricades against the purple march, ah, five opponents

At the barricades against the purple march, the flood came and took all five away.

     The flood came and took all five away.

 

O star fire

O star fire

O star fire

 

At the final barricade stood the towering giants of Nebraska, the talk towers

Hailed them the primal queens of the land. O Godzilla, O Godzilla, O Godzilla

     At the final barricade, at the final barricade, at the final barricade

Before the sweeping tide of the purple queens.

 

We stood like startled trees, our blood sweeping through arterial and venous

    pathways like the wild-rushing flood.

 

O dreams of a little girl

O dreams of a little girl

O dreams of a little girl

 

We stood like startled trees all through the sweat-soaked game, adrenaline

Oozed from every pore, adrenaline oozed from every rafter, adrenaline oozed

     from the uttermost core.

 

A game like none other, a game more marvelous than the marvelous tales of Okri

    & Marquez,

A game that fastened the feet to tiled earth, and yet the hands carried out a concatenation

    Of countless dialogues, arguments, & ah! exclamations!

 

The barricade had been breached twice, & Godzilla was reeling, reeling, reeling

     from the saber thrusts of purple queens and purple moves.

 

Ah—

Dawg land

dawg land

dawg land

 

The Godzilla of Nebraska reeled from the saber thrusts of purple queens & purple

     moves.

 

The climax came like a meteor shower, the last barricade was breached, breached, &

    dealt the vanquishing blow.

 

Quick as a cat, the lithe gazelle conducted the winning point to the unguarded spot

in a sea of cornhusker hands, O in sea of cornhusker hands, O in a sea of cornhusker hands,

     O in a sea of cornhusker hands—

 

& the sweeping flood swept through the last barricade, O the sea sweeping flood

     swept through the last barricade, O the sweeping flood swept through the last

barricade.

 

Tears fell like confetti.

Joy spun through different constellations of cartwheels.

The labor of years, the labor of countless lonely moments, the labor of countless

thud, thud, thud in a lonely gym, of strategy sessions with Coach J., the labor

     of innumerable moments

there at the hour of the triumphant cry.

 

O purple queens

O purple queens

O purple queens

 

Generations will recall the great purple march,

   A little girl will see & follow the trail,

O trail to greatness, O trail to greatness, O trail to greatness.

 

Generations will recall the great purple march,

   A little boy will see & follow the trail,

O trail to greatness, O trail to greatness, O trail to greatness

 

& Christal Marie, new star of the constellations, star of stars,

    O stars of stars, O star of stars, your star fire shall guide the path

Of the adventurer, North Star throwing star fire in the path of the determined questor.

 

O star fire

O Christal Marie

O star fire.