BASEBALL IS LONG

BASEBALL IS LONG

and I am sleepy,
12th inning
and no end
on base anywhere,
I must leave for bed,
hope and fervor tucked
in beside me, rooting
for the morning, waking
to find our birdy rivals
clawing,
rasping, perched
one more rung
below us
while we inch
and inch
that much closer to the sky
where our unreachable balls fly.