He was the daydreamer—
less physically developed,
less coordinated, more likely
to be enticed by a pop of yellow
dandelions in the outfield,
or distracted by a local business
hiring a pilot to fly aerial banners
during a one-run game, his parents
silently hoping the other team
was filled with right-handed
hitters who couldn’t hit the ball
to the opposite field and worried
about him getting a concussion.
Encouraged to “take one for the team,”
and get hit by a pitch, the other team
chattering “Easy out,” he adopted
a less painful approach—crouching
so low he got on base more times
than not, until there were two strikes
and the next pitch was straight down
the middle where he had no choice
but to go down swinging.

***

Joseph Geskey lives outside Columbus, Ohio. His second book of poetry, Vigil, is forthcoming from Broken Tribe Press. Individual poems have appeared in Verse Daily, Tar River Poetry, Poetry East, The Dodge, and many others. As a parent, he loves the children playing right field and the personalities they bring to the game.