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Long Toss

by Todd Herges

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On the occasion of a young daughter’s unaccompanied airline trip to Chicago

Quietly at the top of his cellular voice,
he calls out to the far-off teammate,
who waits with glove open wide, held chest-high:
“You ready?  Here she comes!”

Ball securely in hand he rears back, kicks high,
and in mental slow-motion lets her fly.
Hope mixes with regret
as he watches the precious pill leave his hand,
a gleaming streaming bullet
arcing eastward toward O’Hare.
His toss is long, thrown out of sight,
and satisfaction from seeing
the entire flight – from his fingers to distant mitt – is lost,
absent the echoed smack
of ball meeting leather.

Alone in his car two hours west of Omaha,
he hears the ball’s just-caught voice:  “I’m here.”
Each day will seem a year
until he safely catches her back again.

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Posted 4/20/09

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Kissing HER on the Strikes

By Todd Herges

With apologies to Dizzy Dean.

Spring Break is time for training to play ball
For players and a college couple, too.
But not on sun-drenched South Padre Isle,
And not in Havasu or cheap Cancun:
This boy and girl chose Cactus League for fun.
It could’ve been Vallarta for few pesos.
Instead, like pitcher’s wife and baby son,
They sit on metal bleachers swapping besos.

The sun shines down, the pitchers look for signs.
The umps yell “Foul!” when balls cross outside lines.
The batboys all learn what there is to know.
The shortstops practice how to cut a throw.
While players wait for cut lists, pace the halls,
One schoolboy hopes she’ll kiss HIM.

Posted 3/9/09.

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Wisconsin Spring

by Doug Fahrendorff

Yesterday
At school
Far from the sun-splashed fields
Of Florida and Arizona
Spring training began
Two boys
Dressed in down jackets
And boots
Against the March wind
Began a game of catch
Near the fence
At the far end
Of the tennis courts
I watched them
Tossing the ball
Back and forth
At times lunging awkwardly
To glove errant throws
Jump-starting spring for me
As certainly as the robins
I’d seen that morning
In my front yard.

Posted 2/25/2009

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The Closest Thing to a Cubs World Series

by Sid Yiddish

Now that Barack Obama has won the U.S. presidential election, it’s the closest thing the Northside will ever be in contention, let alone get to a World Series, even if Obama is from the Southside.
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You see, unlike the Chicago Cubs fans who relentlessly enjoy beating up their rivals bloody, both physically and with words, the White Sox fans wouldn’t do it even if you offered them all the money in the world, because like Obama & his crew, all those guys who support those who wear the black & white uniforms know the right thing to do.
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They know how to stick together, through all kinds of nasty weather and just rough it in the muddy playing fields, even if there’s no yielding or letting up or break in-between.
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See, that’s how the Southside grows, just takes what they are given and goes with the flow.
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So, it’s time to put aside that loveable losers blue and have a little pride for a change, because now that Obama has won the election, it’s a great victory for all of us!
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Not
Republican
Versus
Dem.
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Unlike Cubs fans who always cry out, “Wait ‘til next year,” next year is here for Obama and the rest of us, starting right now.

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For more on Sid Yiddish’s poetry, music and performances, check out his My Space page.

Posted 11/13/08