f/k/a . . .

Despite your Editor’s skepticism about giant urban revitalization projects,  

such as major league sports stadiums (see local schmocal), I can’t help but

be excited that my former hometown, Washington, D.C., now has a new

baseball team — which won the franchise’s first home game last night (see

“Nationals grab glory on DC debut,” bbc.com; “Powerbrokers see more

than a game: opener mixes business, pleasure ,” WashPost, April 15, 2005).

I had just graduated from Georgetown U. when the last DC team fled for

Texas.

 

I’ve enlisted two basebase-loving haijin, Ed Markowski

and Tom Painting to help celebrate the occasion:

 

 

distant thunder

the home run hitter

drops a bunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lightning…

i lose jeter’s pop-up

in a blaze of static

 

 

 

 

 

 

rainy night

a hole in the radio

where a ballgame should be

 

 

 

 

  Ed Markwoski

“distant thunder” & “lightning…” - from games (pawEprint 78, Nov. 2004)

“spring rain” -  Haiku Sun  (Issue X, Jan. 2004) 

 

 

moths circle

the stadium lights

seventh inning stretch

 

 

 

 

all day rain

on the playing field

a stray dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

the toddler

runs to third base

first

 

 

Tom Painting 

“moths circle” from A New Resonance 2: Emerging Voices

“the toddler” & “all day rain” - from the haiku chapbook piano practice      

 

 

   by dagosan:  

 

squinting to see him –

another generation

sent to right field

 

                              [April 15, 2005]

 

 

p.s.  Thanks to Paul David Mena, who contributed the following

haiku to this baseball lineup, as a Comment:

 

 

April chill —

Wakefield’s knuckleball

unhittable

 

bonus (April 17, 2005):

 

extra innings

a runner’s shadow

down the third base line

 

                               John Stevenson from Quiet Enough