COLD COMFORT

It could be worse, I guess.
I could break an ankle,
tripping over the curb on the street.
I could lose my wallet or my phone,
thereby causing an instant panic attack.
I could come down with
some high grade temperature.
Yet, it is hard to keep a perspective
when my favorite baseball team
is mired deep within the chasms of last place.
Best to take cold comfort in
a starting pitcher going five innings,
the clean-up slugger finally getting a hit,
no one else going on the DL.
Yes, I know
tsunamis rake foreign shores,
bridges collapse in Europe,
people across the continents go hungry.
But I long for the days
when I can stand up and cheer my team.
It could be worse.