Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE RUBAIYAT OF BASEBALL, by WILLIAM A. PHELON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE RUBAIYAT OF BASEBALL, by                    
First Line: The spring approaches, and each eager fan
Last Line: "the season's coming—""and the game's still there!"
Variant Title(s): The Rubaiyat Of Battle
Subject(s): Baseball; Sports


THE spring approaches, and each eager fan
Tunes up his voice—the April pipes of Pan
Are not a marker to the early notes,
Wherewith each bug makes all the yawp he can!

Three-toned his lung-power—one grand welcoming scream
To greet the heroes of the old home team—
A yowl derisive for the visitors, and then,
Just for the umpire—a horrific dream.

A surging uproar like a devil's den,
A direful mooing, like a cattle-pen
Jammed with wild steers—and all this racket tells
The royal story—baseball's here again!

The contracts come—the players only smile,
And send reply, "Aw, raise the price a mile—
The steel plants look extremely good right now—
Come up, across, and make it worth our while!"

And the balked magnate, finding he is stung,
Like an orang among the trees gives tongue—
He'd like to cork his barrel—but the boys
Demand, with mockery, a swift-pulled bung!

Far overseas, along the conquered line,
The valiant lads who won the victory pine,
Just to get back, to see the game—for that,
They'll willingly forsake the captured Rhine!

Down South, in Dixie's semi-tropic air,
The terrible hotels in glee prepare
For training squadrons—ah, yes—sum it up,
The season's coming—"and the game's still there!"





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