by Joe Pacheco

As per Edward Arlington Robinson

They have all moved away,
The stadium’s shut and still.
No more outs to play.

No one to shout hooray
Or feel late inning thrill,
They have all moved away.

No afternoon display
Of valor, strength and skill.
No more outs to play.

Nor high priced stars to pay
Or luxury box to fill,
They have all moved away.

As empty stands decay,
Grass shrouds the pitcher’s hill,
No more outs to play.

One last fireworks array
Will deliver final kill.
They have all moved away.
No more outs to play.

.

A villanelle is a poetic form which entered English-language poetry in the 1800s from the imitation of French models. A villanelle has only two rhyme sounds. The first and third lines of the first stanza are rhyming refrains that alternate as the third line in each successive stanza and form a couplet at the close. A villanelle is 19 lines long, consisting of five tercets and one concluding quatrain.   (Wikipedia)

Posted 4/23/2010

Published in Ballparks, Fans, History, Lyric, The Game Itself | Link to this poem | No Comments