Hope rises expectant on Opening Day.
Last season’s transgressions are forgiven.
For a moment, we are wide-eyed.
For a moment, we are in love with the scent of a
well-oiled leather mitt.
For a moment we are eager to knock off old dirt
and silence everything
except the welcome canticles of beer and hotdog
vendors.
For a moment we shut out the prognostications of
cynical game announcers.
For a moment unbelievers pray the Yankees don’t
buy another pennant
and the faithful prepare to have their faith
justified
or risk persecution by the All-Star Break.
For a moment all our digital distractions
disappear –
politicians and their polished shit soliloquys
are shushed
and all the noble rivalries rise to the surface.
You judge your friends by whether they watch the
Cubs or the White Sox
and if they know Tom Seaver’s number
and if they embrace the dream of seeing Pete Rose
in Cooperstown.
For a moment
the day, the hour, the minute, and the weight of
all the ages past
rest upon whether that first pitch and the sound
of the ball hitting the bat.
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