Wednesday, October 02, 2024

ROSES ARE RED

by Jennifer Schneider




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

          petals scattered on soil
cleats carved flowers out of metal

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

            of hurried glances       of hurried glances
                            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 RecollectionsInvisible InkOn Habits & Habitats, and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups.