Baseball Poem

First Time At Third

by Jacqueline Sweeney © 
Published: At The Crack Of The Bat (1992)

First time at third
nothing but nerves.
He fist-whomps his glove,
tucks in his shirt,
kicks up the dirt
for the twenty-fifth time.

Gets in position
pumped up to win,
jump sweeps the plate.
Will it ever begin?

A quick-line drive!
He leaps for the sky.
His body's an arrow,
glove aimed high. 

What's this?
He stumbles,
he tumbles to earth.
His glove is still empty,
face red as his shirt.

The game hasn't started?
"Play Ball!" can be heard
and he's tried to snag
a lowflying bird;
fastflying, linedriving
feathers and all.

How could he think
that a bird was a ball!