Back in the baseball days
If I was taking the mound
Soul winning had the day off
I had no reverence for hitters
All the sinners
Got the best curve ball
Jesus allowed me to throw
That given at bat
And sometimes
I’d hear laughter
As knees buckled
I’ve even smiled myself
Whispering
Thank you Lord
As I fingered the ball
Behind my back
To get another grip
Sometimes the devil
Got in people
Such as Jonny Long
And he’d foul
Off ten or twelve pitches
Then lace a single
And If I had not been a Christian
The next time he came to the plate
I would have plunked him.
Behind me at short was CB Cornett
Lost soul - reliable arm
Our third sacker was always dirty
Diving for stops
Not worrying for his mama
And her laundry bill
Sure to catch it
If he enters the kingdom
Skeeter held down second
Quiet, sensible
Destined to be a deacon
And over at first
The biggest of us all
You only needed
To throw the ball
In his general direction
He had his heart right
Arms outstretched
Saying come unto me
All ye that labor
In the infield.
Our outfield
Must have made
Old Lucifer mad too
Speed in left
Glove in center
In fact
My little left-handed
Brother
Second only
To me in circling the bases
Graced that kingdom
And in right
I recall nothing
To fret over.
Once Toni
A sweet, heavenly child
Of our age
Mysteriously appeared in the stands
Behind home plate
And it so happened
I was due up first
Our next at bat
I hit the first pitch off the 300 sign
In dead center
Standing up at third
I did not have the nerve
To look
But I heard
“Way to go Mike”
The rapture could have occurred right then
I relaxed a minute
Then sped home on a grounder.
The Lord knows
I loved the baseball days.
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