Finally

The Poetry Marathon 2021

June 26, 2021

 

Finally

All I do is drive

Searching for diamonds

Filled with dreams

Of my youth

Wishing that my son

Gets the same experience

As I did so long ago.

The pop of the glove,

The crack of the bat,

The spitting of sunflower seeds

Fill the air.

Baseball: Where diamonds are gold

And dreams of glory resonate.

Jack has played rec ball for four years

And suddenly announced,

“I want to play travel ball.”

So, I search the net,

Mark the tryout dates on the calendar,

Fuel up the car,

And soon I drive…

To Warrenton,

To Mount Vernon,

To Gainesville,

Back to Mount Vernon,

Back to Warrenton,

Anywhere that a team has a 13U tryout.

He just wants a chance to play.

Jack is a 12-year-old

Trapped in a D1 body.

He is six-feet tall

Weighing 197 pounds…

And he is still growing.

He has the power,

But he needs fine tuning.

He just needs to learn to let go

And use all of his physical gifts.

I just hope one coach sees

His raw potential and thinks,

“I can take him to the next level.”

However, most just want the best player

Who gets them closer to the league championship.

With each rejection,

Jack states,

“I want to pay against that team.”

This attitude will keep him motivated

Not only in sports but in life.

At each tryout,

I sit in the car with

Neal Schusterman, James Dickey, and

Dan Carlin who entertains me with stories.

Every now and again,

I get out and watch.

I still love the sounds of the game.

When this last tryout ends,

Jack gets in the car,

“Dad, Coach said he wants to talk to you,

So don’t leave.”

I get out and I wait

While trying not to get my hopes up.

I step away from the car.

Jack doesn’t need to hear any more bad news.

Coach and I make some small talk until he states,

“We want him. We have a spot on our B team.”

I smile, shake the coach’s hand,

And return to the car.

“They want you. You made the team.”

He exhales and his stress melts away.

His smile is the size of a slice of watermelon,

And he says,

“Finally, somebody gave me a chance.”

Yes,

Finally.

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