by Bill Cushing
Lasorda’s at his heavenly rendezvous,
his heart giving its final drop of blue.
He became a foul-mouthed savior
and then his team’s ambassador.
Still, before Brooklyn was a borough,
the team began by making heroes.
When Jackie broke the racial limit,
the Dodgers forced all sports to pivot.
Then, a Moses drove them to exile
by denying them space, and meanwhile
as Bridegrooms to the Yankees,
O’Malley packed up the team to leave.
Departing Brooklyn with a series ring,
they bid Tommy addio with the same thing.
A former New Yorker, Bill Cushing lives and writes in Los Angeles as a Dodger fan (by order of his wife!). His latest collection, Just a Little Cage of Bone (Southern Arizona Press), contains this and other sports-related poems.
