Tuesday, July 15, 2008

2008 MLB All-Star Game

Dioner Novarro  swings at a curveball
and hits into a crowd of people 
spilling their beer and stepping on peanut shells.
There's a boy pounding his fist into a glove
his father oiled for hours before the game,
then wrapped a rubber band around it
and sit it under a stack of phone books.

This is Dioner Novarro's first All-Star game
and the boy's first baseball game.
Edinson Volquez sent a two-seam fastball towards the plate, 
cutting from Novarro's knees to his waist.
He struck out without removing the bat from his shoulders.
The boy's dad says "I'm getting a beer."
Dad gets up, and the boy feels small
because everyone around him stands up
and cheers when a beer vendor begins to juggle cups.
He wonders why his dad couldn't have just bought a beer
from the juggling vendor.
The boy wanted to wipe away his father's foam mustache
and watch Dioner Novarro hit a ball
into dead centerfield
where nobody is allowed to sit.


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