Yakima October Team

OCTOBER POST CARD TO THE YAKS

Chalk lines on Yakima grass.

New beginnings for each. Coach, players.

Small towns, mountains. Far away and close.

Hawaii and Alaska. Forest fires.

Here to play ball. Adopting each other.

Being. Longing. Belonging.

To this idea. Gloves line up

in solidarity, a promise

to each other to be a team.

Power, belonging, freedom and fun.

Making plays. Going to class.

Creative with the strike zone and books.

Writing post cards, sometimes to ourselves.

Writing home. Being here. Making contact.

Jim Bodeen

14 October 2019

A POEM FOR THE BASEBALL COACH

Hey, brother, it's October,

you're putting a team together,

starting over in October. It's what

you do, how you love the game,

what you give to it. Being present

for each pitch. Standing in the box.

Being ready, and then, just being.

What's new? You, like baseball,

always new. No time clock to this game.

Being real for seven innings.

Is that even possible? So complete

one can never get it all said,

in a single game, season, life time.

Being your brother one more day.

Jim

14 October 2019

YAKS ARE HERD ANIMALS, HALEY,

Welcome to the team. They're domesticated,

but wild. Essential ingredients for any fast-pitch  team.

They survive and flourish by staying together,

protect each other in cold weather. They

can take it. They're going to need your help.

You're here, like they are, to belong.

Wednesday is October Celebration Day.

The day the team says, We belong to each other.

This is the day we choose to be one team.

This is what adoption means.

Funny things will happen. You gotta laugh.

Some days your sister will touch every base,

twice. Some days, she'll strike out swinging.

They need you, you all need each other.

Jim Bodeen

14 October 2019