~
Spring Training
Pitchers and catchers report
today. No one is hurt,
no one is slumping, and this
is the year we’ve waited for,
the year it comes together:
the top of the order will hit
for average, the pitchers will all
have winning records, the check
will really be in the mail.
Researchers will find a cure
for cancer, justice will shape
the courts’ decisions, the sluggers
will slug, the closer will close,
husbands and wives will love
each other, and peace will prevail
in the world. Pitchers and catchers
report today: there’s nothing
for now that can’t be dreamed.
~
George McDermott
George McDermott is a Philadelphia poet who lives in Florida (that’s not impossible, not even particularly uncommon). He’s also been an English teacher, a speechwriter, and a screenwriter (those are not mutually exclusive, not even especially different). His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in such journals as Painted Bride Quarterly, Notre Dame Review, and Chicago Quarterly Review.