Squeeze Play in Five Acts
Squinting into lights through a cage,
the catcher tucks his fist into his crotch
and flashes signs
to the pitcher, poker-faced, leaning-in,
like a panther assaying quarry before the pounce,
hiding the ball behind his back,
turning it in his fingers to find the seams
he will command to enchant its flight, then
squaring his shoulders and staring like
a gunslinger
at the runner who teases a step at a time,
freezes on the balls of his feet, legs coiled,
arms cocked, instinct triggering the dive
to safety or dash into that soundless corridor
that points to home.
Bending backward, like a catapult winding,
the pitcher points his cleats at the sky
and a fielder with his glove open-mouthed
begins to tiptoe toward the borderland
dividing hesitation from commitment
and the final act begins:
A man, centerstage, standing alone
who will detect rotation, estimate rate,
speculate on trajectory, before reaching
to tap the ball softly as a pool shark,
the dénouement unfolding inside a script
the players write with
if, then.
James Green has published four chapbooks of poetry. His most recent, Long Journey Home, was the winner of the 2019 Charles Dickson Chapbook Contest sponsored by the Georgia Poetry Society. His individual poems have appeared in literary magazines in Ireland, the UK, and the USA. James resides in Muncie, Indiana.