I. Roses
We’d watch
on a twelve-inch screen,
antennas at awkward angles,
as temperatures, both internal
and external, rose
I’d discover butterflies
in stitched misses, baseball
bats that made magic,
and the sounds of pure,
unadulterated happiness
Batter up!
Play ball!
It’s going going going gone!
a star
would swing at starlit
skies
and connect a nation
as hit after hit
after hit
made records.
water splattered on seeds
nearby gardens
of roses drank water and returned
all favors
in full bloom,
a batter, a ball, and a smile
ran diamonds
and traversed miles
without speaking a word
until rose petals
blew in unexpected winds
NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST
traded places with bases
FIRST SECOND THIRD
HOME,
a last,
last time at bat
all-time hit
leader batter out
a ban
bats in the night sky
flapped wings
over an empty diamond
and the game turned
forbidden
in hushed whispers
of hurried glances of hurried glances
on closed quarters on closed quarters
in whispers hushed
forbidden
a quarter danced,
heads you win
tails you lose
dollars waltzed
in forbidden ballrooms
diamonds
in the sky dared
empty dance
floors promised private pairs
bases no longer mattered
records once broken no longer ruled grandstands
the 1988 season
turned cold
a rose, once and still loved
a hit of over four thousand swings
a sure-hit Hall of Famer
of twenty-one petals
and over 4000 career-hit winners
banned
a rose
by no other name
never to come home
II. The Dowd Report
The Dowd Report
returned,
from outfield,
right and left of center
a pitch
a wish
a curveball
that hit home plate
and batt(l)ed in order
reports corroborated
hopes for reconsideration
sizzled
like foul balls
It’s going going
gone.
no commissioner
of baseball
will take on the Hall of Fame
rules
as the cardinal, a bloody red,
watches from a nearby window
III. Play. Ball.
With nine innings during which to play ball,
the ruse (and truce) can, at times, hurt
as much as the fall.
#14. Ready. Set. Go.
1. Rank the following in order of time worth waiting:
Grand slam breakfasts. World Series magic.
Record-setting fast pitches. Season tickets.
2. Describe the weight of a tie at home plate.
3. Is the weight of the fall worth the wait for Fall?
4. Which of the following words is least like the others?
Scandal. Scolder. Skipper. Scrapper.
5. Are fireworks more or less reason
to look up than an unexpected shot to the outfield?
6. Are banned substances more or less damaging
than banned betting?
7. Is a bet to win a wrong?
8. Compare and contrast bet with bat,
fired with fired up, and rose with rise.
9. If the slide into home plate burns,
who’s responsible for the dressing?
10. For how long does a record's music retain its quality?
11. List an all-time greatest hit.
12. Are all greatest hits recorded?
13. Describe the measure of a rose.
14. Is a rose in full bloom more or less beautiful
than a game won in extra innings under a full moon?
Jennifer Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. Recent works include A Collection of Recollections, Invisible Ink, On Habits & Habitats, and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups.