HOW TO WATCH A BALL DROP

by Jennifer Schneider

while listening to cutlery chatter / trading pennies for minutes / fielding
runaways / phoning an estranged neighbor / one shoe on / shoulder
to bolder with strangers / atop mystery mountains / beneath bleachers /
beside unnamed gas station signs / pumping the backstroke / sipping
tea on ice / scaling questions / smoking turkey legs / whispering
strong verbs / dropping pennies into juke boxes / on hands wrapped
around childhood's knee / chins up / guards down / of lemon slices
in sugary drinks / punches spiked of dragon fruit and butterfly
wings / belting bird song / stitching hummingbird hashtags / in flannel
evening gowns / streaming Beethoven’s fifth / taking the fifth /
consuming reality TV / no artificial sweeteners / watching Coke
wrestle Pepsi in a boxing ring / no rings in fingers / rings on lobes /
dressed in layers of recycled bloomers / pressing remote-controlled
buttons / unbuttoned / unaddressed / in torn silks and
unadulterated silence

of Alka Seltzer fizz and Cheeze wonder whiz / with cherry
marmalade on Wonder / flanked of generational flannels / clothed
in piranhas playing tubas and elephant truths / naked / dressed in naked
wishes / layered of love sewn of leather and knee-high boots / of lavender
scented kisses / broken, sipping soup from floral dishes / with fish
out of water / swimming butterflies in shallow ponds / in deep
/ deep in love’s rebus / before a judge of saints / wet of purple rain /
in wrinkle-resistant tiaras / of organ chords and tenor runs / on the run /
on a corduroy sofa / fashioned of plaid patches on elbows / fastened
of polka-dot bows / tied to no one / tired / fascinated / no hatred /
beside ghosts who dare to breath / beneath a sky dusted

of backdoor smoke and bathroom mirrors / sharpening
second chances / calculating time’s dimensions / wandering
through Alice’s wonderland / with a pocket full of honesty /
trading retired coins that are still official currency / drinking books
like medicine’s bounty / playing poker with pirates / vaccinating bites
and bouts of dishonesty / of freedom to toss wishes into egg soufflés /
of heads, we win, tails, no one loses games / of champagne
in flute-stemmed glasses / weighted of wisdom / consuming
curiosity / inhale  / beholden to memory’s fortune /  long enough /

long enough to remember /
the joy of being human / of freedom /
of the currency of a revolution / again / again / again

            the ball drops--
beside me, the dog’s ears
twitch then settle, a new year,

the same routine

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.

THE GIRL; A DIAMOND

by Jennifer Schneider

in honor of the Women’s Professional Baseball League Draft—gems, in a league of their own.

For the first time in history, women’s professional baseball players heard their names called in a Draft. The inaugural WPBL Draft on November 2025 was more than just a list of picks; it was be the moment when the league’s four founding teams took shape. The newly assembled teams will then begin preparing for the inaugural season. For the athletes, it will mean competing alongside—and against—the best players in the world. For fans, it’s the start of a new tradition: professional women’s baseball at a level never seen before. —WPBL

The girl spends her days dreaming of diamonds. 
The girl spends her nights playing the field.
The girl fields heavy hitters. The girl
catches sluggers. Of dingers and stingers
and grand-slam aces, the girl swings.
The girl hits as hard as she pitches.
She doesn’t care for cracker jacks.
She doesn’t bluff the crowd’s backs.
She doesn’t whistle at strikes.
She doesn’t negotiate the crows’ caw.
She doesn’t wait for a league to call.
She plays in a league of her own.
She plays the game she loves.
She loves her life.
She relishes full counts.
She balances balls like Jello.
She calculates the distance
from home at awkward angles.
She drives hard. She runs harder.
She’s strong. She’s tough. Tougher
than the Earth’s hardest, natural
mineral. She’s a natural gem.
A woman. A pioneer. A revolution
in motion. Fingers wrapped
around wood. She’s at home on the turf.
She’s got good eyes and a love of leather.
She prefers supple gloves, white pants,
and form-fitting helmets. She doesn’t need
a diamond on her finger. She hits her own home runs.
Of blisters, bloopers, and bleeders, she cleans–
she cleans the bases. Of manicured fields
and destination bleachers, the girl is a pro. The girl
is home, home at last–at the plate where the diamond
begins and where the diamond ends.

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.

JAPAN’S FIRST _________

by Jennifer Schneider

Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of Japan

Sanae Takaichi paid 
her own way through higher education, 
her parents didn’t believe school a worthy 
use of change for a girl, even one suited
of big, bigger, the biggest—
reams of dreams,

now, Takaichi holds the country’s highest office, 
a prime minister, my word!

yet       not yet             no, don’t  

In traditional fashion, well-fitted, Takaichi spares 
no hesitation to infuse wrinkles into hopes 
for progress when expressing her limited interest 
in spending or spreading a change of suits
for feminist checklists.

            not yet             no, don’t          amen

Dressed in shades of blue 
that nicely complement the existing political 
climate, Takaichi bows before the men 

who surround 
the camera’s focused lens, 

            smile!  bow     again

dressed on a platform of DNA and policies that ring 
familiar tunes, her maiden voyage–an address 
rooted in conservative values

a sale? at a discount? who’s first? 
a man… amen

Why women don’t need to be first*

1. Because they will bow to men regardless of placement.
2. Because all boats need sales and sailors, not merchants.
3. Because they’ll take their man’s name upon departure.
4. Because others have shown it’s a wasted opportunity.
5. Because all leaders wear suits of spades and kings.
6. Because men will never understand the women’s struggle.
7. Because once a maiden, always a maiden in men’s quarters.
8. Because maiden voyages require too much maintenance.
9. Because all leaders wear pants.
10. Because women’s cycles are enough.
11. Because blue has always been a man’s color.
12. Because women fill in the blanks whenever asked.
13. Because finishing is a man’s work.
14. Because a woman’s interests always come after those of a man.
15. Because it’s a sign of weakness to conclude a sentence with a preposition.

*after “Why We Oppose Pockets for Women” by Alice Duer Miller

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.

A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE

by Jennnifer Schneider

Barbara Taylor Bradford, one of the world’s best-selling novelists, who captivated readers for decades with chronicles of buried secrets, raging ambitions and strong women of humble origins rising to wealth and power, died on Sunday at her home in Manhattan. She was 91. —The New York Times, November 25, 2024

She filled blank pages with words of

multiple meanings and suits tailored for stories

of queens. She crafted plots that resembled 

her own life story and offered a staircase to portals

rich in descriptive imagery. A rags-to-riches arc 

that avoided and, at times, created, as many markers 

of cliche and peculiarly timed climaxes as it delivered

tension and reams of dreams

strung of form-

fitting predictability. A twist to the standard 

plot, on ice, of dice—she dined with hands of Margaret 

Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth and, in her own 

way, revealed subtleties

of character. An admirable trajectory to fill any library. 

Of Substance—a single proper

noun. 

In a series of serious words

she doubled down on Doubleday. 

She made child’s play of words and commerce of play.

A woman of

humble origins. A staircase built for empires

and umpires tracking stars in eyes 

and star-struck skies. Arms stretched wide. 

The dictionary lacks a proper word for a character

of her sort. Charades neither game nor fame. A novel protagonist 

of the written word. My word. She penned thousands of sentences,

But her greatest act of all is a simple form—her, as a verb. A fiery 

engine of commerce and craft and compulsively consumable plot 

twists. Amidst sudden changes of heart and the wonder 

of it all—a trusted pen, a loyal friend. Neither weapon 

nor contempt for the reality of the wor(l)d. She wrote the story 

as she lived it. To Remember. As any woman that could 

and would and should dream it. Hold it.

A heroine so bold. 

She lived and wrote and broke her own rules. 

Of voice and of heart. Of Just Rewards.

As the plot unfolds to its final page. 

The finale in her words

She remains a work and Woman of Substance

A celebrity in the rarest of literary terms form.

A story (unedited) well told.

A dynasty (unscripted) all her own.

A strong verb.

To be continued. A sequel, well-earned.

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.

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 Recollections, Invisible Ink, On Habits & Habitats, and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups.