by Tom Clark
So long Roberto Clemente
you have joined the immortals
who’ve been bodysnatched
by the Bermuda Triangle
When your plane went down
it forced tears out of grown men
all over the hemisphere
Al Oliver and
even Willie Stargell cried
You had a quiet
pissed-off pride
that made your countrymen
look up to you
even if you weren’t
taller than they are
No matter how many times
Manny Sanguillen
dove for your body
the sun kept going down
on his inability to find it
I just hope those Martians realize
they are claiming the rights to
far and away the greatest rightfielder
of all time
Copyright Tom Clark. From Fan Poems (1976).