For Jevan

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns..” - Homer

                       The boy’s bat cracks!

percussive snap of smooth ash, mitts thunk, hands clap,

heads lift up, white dot orbits deep, sails and leaps

onto green, kids perched on dugout bench once lulled to sleep

stand and scream, a dozen banshees adrift in wild dream

as batter sprints counter-clockwise base to base, dust blurs

fans’ sight, sweat streaks across face, dulled cleats bite infield dirt, 
his hat now tossed, cap’s flown off as rounding third he touches 
bag tight, almost out of breath, on his mind one last peak to climb 
with head down runs so fast despite hurt shins slides chest first 
onto home plate:

                                       ‘SAFE!!’

                                    dad’s proud

                (fans stand!) team shouts, high fives,

                       man alive! ecstatic grins everyone.