My interest in skateboarding was sparked in my teen years as a punk rocker listening to groups like Black Flag, whose fans were into it. I also enjoy watching the Dew skateboarding and BMX bike tournaments on TV. I never really had the balance for it, but I knew friends who did.

During my sister's and nephew's trip here, we stopped at the Skater Park at Onondaga Lake in Liverpool for Ryan to watch and play. He was so excited, I wanted to capture the eagerness in poetry that he experienced seeing the sport for the first time as a four and a half year old.

The flips and turns were something Ryan was hoping to do when he got older. Ryan was so thrilled, he insisted we bring him back to see the skaters and BMX bikers another time before he went home to New Jersey. I want to dedicate this haiku to my nephew, Ryan Scott.