Ah.

AN ODE to THE CORNER

Read the roll of those that played

Count every face; the crowds that made

A church of light, a field of dreams

A century of us; our team

Farewell the sun, and bar the gates

As fades the final roar

The brightest home; our eager youth

Like summer is no more

But ah, the blue and green of it

The light upon the field

The noise, the smell, the crowd, the sky

Our common heart revealed

The many, one; in summer’s sun

We pulled the runner home

A grassy sea, an English ‘D’

The athletes’ skill a poem

The memories stray in twilight’s fade

Was Boone at first, or third?

Did Kaline stem the Cardinal tide?

Who was it caught The Bird?

But recalled exactly in our hearts

We loved our time, this place

100 years, let’s go! … play ball!

The thrill … this park … its grace

Echoes carry; springtimes fly

Now autumn’s shadows yield

Forever winter drapes the cry

“Long gone!” across the field

If there be ghosts that know the land;

Called back to hallowed scenes

My father and my father’s Dad

Still hold this field of dreams

That section there, in leftfield high

My father and I came

And then, in turn, I brought my son

To our eternal game

So read the roll of those that played

Count every face; the crowds that made

A church of light; a field of dreams

A century of us … the team

Tom DeLisle