I wipe dust off a green chair and sit down
and expect someone to tell me to move
where my ticket says I should go
Someone might ask me if I’m scouting
that hitter whose hands sting
when he stands at third base and claps
after a triple in a tie game in the 6th
I say sting because I can hear the ball hit the aluminum bat
as he connects with a ping
or a thud
or a thunk
but I don’t know the word
for the player who scowls after striking out with the bases loaded
but doesn’t curse
or the catcher who runs back
and digs a wild pitch out of the dirt
under the screen in front of me
without a word
for the player who strikes out with two aboard
and tosses his helmet into the grass
the first base coach picks it up
so the player can drop his gloves into the helmet
while the coach tells him
“It’s all right.”
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