Imagine a pool cue to be like an arrow, the arm of the player the bowstring, the stroke of the cue the perfectly straight path of the arrow as it leaves the bow, and all as a single harmony of motion which ends in the fluid pocketing of a ball. Perhaps this imagery is poetically excessive when applied to a game most often played in the context of a smoky bar, where the participants in the competition have probably imbibed their share of intoxicating beverages and thus exhibit more the character of a rabble rather than that of disciples of an Art. But when a skilled player begins to shoot with supreme precision, eyes, however crossed by excess, may turn to the table in rapt attention. Should you frequent such places that offer up pool tables for public use you might at times witness occasional exhibitions of prowess so pure and unassuming as to be spell-binding, even to those uninitiated in the intricacies of play.

Above is my friend David Halstrom, who happens to be the fellow who taught me much about the basics of the game. He taught me how to hold a cue stick, how to appraise the disposition of the cue ball relative to it's objectives and especially how to conduct myself at the table, undistracted and attuned to the nuances which lay before me. I learned these things with few words but with many examples. David also imparted to me an appreciation of poetry, to hear the richness of meaning hidden in words. Richness of meaning has many hiding places whether concealed in words or in the space between balls on a field of felt.

At this point you, who up to now may have only observed the drama enacted on your local tavern pool table, may be curious about the possibility of joining in. You may be hesitant, but you are only lacking in rudimentary skill and confidence. A cue stick is a strange thing to wield for the first time. Your first tentative grasp of one will likely be informed by experience observing other players, whose performance on the felt may well be the product of self-confidence combined with natural skill and a bit of luck. You may however be fortunate enough to observe a player who possesses an articulate understanding of the Art of the game. Such a player will enact a seemingly effortless positional choreography where the cue ball seems to dance around the table at her whim. When presented with such a player it is well to pay careful attention as doing so is a portal into a realm wherein intention and intuition conspire to produce beauty. And you may also learn a thing or two about how to begin to play.