Somebody
said
there’s a baseball
spirit
who sets
the table
who spruces the whole place up
and puts
the bats there
the balls
the mitts
the uniforms
chalks the lines just right
gets the umps
focused and keen
who
opens the gates
and says:
“Come on in everybody
they’re gonna play ball!”
Someone
said there’s a baseball
spirit
who lifts up
from home plate
and yells
Steeeeeeeeeeerike!
and Yerrrrrrr outTTT!
and on occasion
amidst a bunch
of kicked-up dirt
yells:
Saaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyfffffffe!
Who anticipates
the crowd
and the players
and the first pitch
and the next
and the crack of the bat
and the diving
catch
and the disappearing
baseball
caught in the stands
by that kid
whose eyes are now
open so wide
Someone told me
there’s a baseball spirit
who clears
everyone’s throat
(and heart)
when it’s time
to sing
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame“
Someone told me
the world
will sigh
when it is
discovered
there is a baseball
spirit
that
for awhile we sit together
as a very
large family
in the home we know
as baseball
and
there is a baseball
spirit
who guides it all
Someone asked
“Should we give
this baseball
spirit
a name?
A face?
An outfit?”
And an
answer
was heard
but no
one is sure
from where:
“It’s you —
It’s all of you!”
