home plate

watching the little league game,
as the exploding ball sinks
closer to its daily demise,
leaving the skies
for the shelter of the trees,

it is easier to understand
how parochial we can become
watching the swing of the bat
and the Charlie Hustle
of the bustle of
would-be's, wanna-be's
cheered on by moms and dads
whose thoughts are here,
on this ballfield,
at this moment --
not halfway around the world,
where fear and disease
rule all under a watchful eye
that carries a gun, a knife,
and a warning --

here, one can be absorbed
into this now
and never give a thought
to the other now,
and the crack of the bat
seldom serves as an alarm:

that there is a world
beyond home plate.



April 27, 2009.

Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.