This poem is from a wonderful anthology called Line Drives, published by the Southern Illinois University Press.
I can honestly say I derive as much joy and entertainment from America's summer game as I do my own nation's summer game of Cricket.
Interchange the words - baseball, cricket; pitcher, bowler; batter, batsman and for me, this poem sums up either game.
The last two lines are beautiful and thought provoking, always making me think of how I live this life of mine.
Batter, Pitcher or Fielder, which one sums up the way you live your life?
I'm a Fielder - no doubt about it....grinning.
IT AIN'T OVER
Louise Greco
Baseball is something
like love. There's an elegance
about it -- a fine tension.
Fielders pluck comets
from thin and glorious air.
Pitchers make solid spheres
disappear. And batters smash meteors
with matchsticks.
But fielders also topple
over fences, sprawl empty-handed
in the dust. Pitchers throw wild.
And batters sometimes tilt
at windmills.
Yet they lean in -- watch -- wait.
They risk looking foolish
in order to be brilliant.
Brilliant post, Michael. Hummm...I would say, I am a fielder as well. I do enjoy baseball. I have been to one cricket match in Whitby, near Oxford --interesting, interesting network of skills. Don't ask me to explain it!
ReplyDeleteI played 2nd base in school and loved the sport as a participant.
ReplyDeleteAmerican baseball has gotten very boring to watch as there are long stretches of time between pitches while consultations have to take place along with copious scratching, spitting, and scuffing of dirt. Still, it's a nostalgic feeling to sit in the cool evening air at the ballpark and take in all the sights and sounds.
Great post, Mick, love the poem. One day I want to see a cricket match.
Oh, I guess 2nd base makes me a fielder, but as a metaphor for life, I'd say I'm a batter.
ReplyDeleteI was always in the outfield. Whether playing or watching. I hate televised sport but love a summer afternoon or evening at a baseball stadium.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is more than just the hotdogs which I eat at no other time.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've never understood the terminology of cricket I can enjoy watching it - from the comfort of an armchair! Maybe I'm a fielder too, plucking the odd comet out of air!
I don't know much about cricket, but I sure do like those cute sweaters!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, (warning, I'll be a bit off-color here), in America there is a sexual connotation for being either a pitcher or catcher. I refuse to explain, you'll have to use your imagination. There is, as far as I know, no sexual equivalent for a fielder or a batter.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of myself as a batter, the locale is a batting cage (life) with one fast ball after another hurled toward me, and with my skinny and wholly inadequate stick I'm trying to dispatch each one in a desired way. Sometimes I hit it out of the park, sometimes it's a swing and a miss.
I'm also a maker of lists taking much pleasure in crossing things off. Sort of the same thing, I think.
Excellent post M....
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say I'm a batter and a fielder...
And I think Bekkie should do a blog on pitchers and catchers, after all, she brought it up.
I'm just looking for ways to help her in her quest to keep busy. :P
PS. I love the last three lines...smiling....
ReplyDeleteMick, I love those last lines as well. Don't we often not just risk, but actually look foolish, and more rarely, brilliant? I happened to watch a baseball movie today, "Sugar", and those lines did certainly apply.
ReplyDeleteJacqueline, I'll reserve the pitcher/catcher post for a later date. But any ideas for keeping me preoccupied are most welcome. :)