There's just something about a fresh start and a brand new season
Ode to Marlins Spring Training Baseball
by Carole Ann Hausman
Today’s 1:05 start
Has a split squad
And you’re hoping the Victor Mesa brothers
Are on the team
You’re seeing today.
All winter--
ALL WINTER
You’ve counted down the days
And here you are
In Jupiter
Handing cash for parking
To a boomer in a tropical shirt
Who welcomes you with the warmth of a grandparent
Opening the door at Christmas.
You are among the throngs of fans
Who reemerge in the spring
Like cicadas
Crawling toward the light of the ballpark.
You’re there early enough
To get a good spot to watch the pitchers warming up
And you can hear the familiar unmistakable whoosh
Of a fastball slicing through the humidity
Before it smacks the glove… tssssssPOP!
You get a program and a cold beer
And soak in that intoxicating nostalgia
That you are, at long last,
With your people.