YCLEPT THE JUNK MAN
(upon Edward Lopat [ynski] , 1953)
“. . . just waiting ‘til the shine wears off . . .”
– Coldplay –
1. It never arrives as a hummer.
2. Or leaves a premature dinger.
3. Seams might be seen, mostly,
After gauche sleight-of-hand,
Then hide down-and-away.
4. You can look pretty dumb up there
On off- off-speeds. Dug in,
Waiting for some heat – Nevermore.
5. So much for plotting at the plate.
6. So much for cant and control, the Junk Man sayeth.
And concisions. And revisions. Before the taking of faith & fate.
7. Steady Eddie’s Pitches/Dope Ontology
Never hang an overhand curve, or an Eephus.
Or feed their meat.
Just a stray, dullgrey dollop off the plate, now-and-again.
Nothing fat for the yobs. Maybe dabs.
Here-and-there, screw-jee, sinker, slider, coy changeup, changeup,
changeup; who knows where, or when?
Mantra this— Slow. Slower. Stop. Add plenty of this-and
-that, Saul Rogovin, Big Easy, Bronx Cheer.
Airbrush every corner.
Master the motion.
Leave ‘em in stitches.
8. Which is what Himself, this, is mostly about.
9. In-and-out. In-and-out. In-and-out.