Classic and Contemporary Poetry
PLAY BALL!, by WILLIAM A. PHELON First Line: Flags dance, bands bray, the gates are thrown ajar; Last Line: "to that one crashing chorus of ""play ball!" Subject(s): Athletes; Baseball; Sports | ||||||||
FLAGS dance, bands bray, the gates are thrown ajar; Through every portal eager myriads pour King Baseball firmly grasps his ashen mace And 'mid vast plaudits takes his throne once more! Volumes of sound come roaring from the stands The far-off bleachers send back cheer on cheer; The players march majestic down the field And start light practice with the whizzing sphere! Applause greets each grim veteran as he strides, Doffing his cap, to his accustomed place. A hearty welcome meets the newer men And drives the stage-fright from each youthful face! Song-pluggers and photographers, in droves, Block off your view, obscure the glorious sight, And through the aisles the peanut butchers move, Hawking old goods, and jostling left and right! In newest uniforms, the athletes leap. A brilliant scenebut roses have their thorns, And, in a subterranean, nearby cove, The umpires polish up their hoofs and horns! Massed, packed, and jammed, the stands and bleachers shake; The managers strut proudly on the scene, The practice grows much fasterfuriously The leather flies along the sparkling green! At last! The fateful moment! Roar on roar Greets the loud clangor of the gong's last call And all the universe seems grandly tuned To that one crashing chorus of "Play Ball!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPORT STORY OF A WINNER by GLYN MAXWELL WOMAN SKATING by MARGARET ATWOOD FISHING IN WINTER by RALPH BURNS CAPPER KAPLINSKI AT THE NORTH SIDE CUE CLUB by HAYDEN CARRUTH JACKIE ROBINSON by LUCILLE CLIFTON FOR THE DEATH OF VINCE LOMBARDI by JAMES DICKEY THE DEATH OF THE RACE CAR DRIVER by NORMAN DUBIE A FOOL THERE WAS by WILLIAM A. PHELON |
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