BALLET OF BASEBALL

It’s a dance, you know.
Consider just one play:
Batter hits ground ball towards second.
He runs along the base path.
The second baseman bends
to catch the ball.
The first baseman skips towards the bag,
lifts his glove ready to catch the throw.
He stretches, reaching to keep
one foot on the base.
The runner pumps his legs to beat the throw.
The ball and the runner arrive at the same time.
The umpire yells, “Safe!”
Just a few seconds have past,
but this brief ballet has excited the crowd –
the last out!
Pitcher and catcher leave the field entwined.
The dance will be repeated tomorrow,
indeed repeated all summer long.