by Bob Stanley
Tom was left-handed
so they put him at first base
not realizing he was right-brained.
In the second inning
when a ground ball found his glove
surprised, he cried
Let us go then, you and I
to the ball,
and in the lamplight
(it was a night-game)
he stepped on the bag for the out.
“Four Quartets”
we realize now
is not about the Upanishads
or Catholic imagery,
it’s about
the four bases of
the diamond:
how we hit, run, slide,
score &
steal,
as if we could stop time
and always be absolved
so that even victory becomes painful
on so many levels:
in my big inning is my end.
It’s about baseball,
which the Midwest transplant sorely missed
as a bank teller in London;
he missed the feel of dirt
sweeping his glove along the ground
and the chance
to pluck the fast moving ball
with a snap of his wrist.
April was a cruel month, indeed
since the Cardinals
were looking good that year.
No comments:
Post a Comment