Tunnel of Love

(Or, From Pitcher’s Hand to Catcher’s Glove)

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by Todd Herges

With apologies and thanks to Bruce Springsteen and Mark Knopfler

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In a screaming ring of faces
The fat man sits on a little stool
As my eyes take a walk all over you,
As his fingers take a walk in front of the cup.

Then the lights go out and it’s just the three of us:
Pitcher, catcher, batter.
Let it rock and let it roll
Down in through this tunnel of love.

Hey mister blue give me oh-two, give me oh and two ‘cause two can play this game.
But it’s only gonna be me playing tonight
With a mind, with a twig.
A little maple twig, soon to be shattered – if it’s dared put on my pitch.

Then the lights go out it’s just the three of us.
I’m laughing at you, you’re laughing at me,
But you’re a victim of my night
As I shoot an arrow through your heart.

You gotta learn to live with what you can’t rise above
The way my two finger rises and rides away
‘Cause it’s been money for muscle, another whiriligig,
And rockaway rockaway

On the tunnel of love. In this tunnel of love.

Down the pipe down the chute down the pike
I shoot the little seed,
The little pill-sized 5-ounce pea,
The tiny pea-sized 9-inch aspirin tablet,

Past you.

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posted 8/17/2009

Pastime

by Casey Hannan

At a baseball game, so high up
the birds seem bigger than the players,
bigger than the crowned lion mascot,
and bigger even, than my expectations,
because, you see, I didn’t root, root, root,
for anyone. The Royals sucked and the
Rangers were visitors, so it was
heresy to cheer when they won, which
I think they did, though it’s hard to
remember when all I see, looking back
through the heat, hazy like it is in a
too hot car, is a crowd of people all
trying not to fling themselves onto
the field, so green you could swim
in it, to cool down to the most basic
part of the experience: American History
and the obligation spun from those pages.

For more of Casey’s poetry, check out his blog, Poetry, DUH.

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Posted 8/4/2009

Bunt

by Doug Fahrendorff

Don’t tip your hand too soon
Like poker deception is key
The infield deep
Confident you’re swinging away
Push the ball
To the right side
Past the pitcher
Out of the box
Fast
Safe!

 Published 7/24/09

Making the Call

By Stuart Shea

Is it worse when an umpire blows a call
Or when a player–in righteous anger–makes a mockery of it all?

It’s hard to support bad umpiring work
But who wants to watch some player act like a jerk?

Why don’t we even it out.
Let’s increase fan applause-o.
Let’s make umpiring-baiting legal
And let plate umpires call batters out like Enrico Palazzo!

Published 7/20/09