The catcher knelt in the dirt
holding his face in his hands
as if he’d lost something dear to him.
In fact he lost the ball
with two strikes
as it bounced in the dirt and bounded to the right
of the first base line
as the runner on third
raced toward home.
Where is it?
The catcher tore off his mask
looked left
as his pitcher
ran toward the plate to guard the plate.
Where is it?
The catcher saw the ball
and dove for it
to toss it to the pitcher
who had thrown the wild pitch but
would still tag out the runner at home
and save the season.
Only, the pitcher slumped his shoulders
and the catcher covered his face
then fell on his back
because the runner
had already touched home plate
and was being chased by teammates
on their way to the college baseball regional tournament.
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