I See People

I See People

Our preteen team, the Tigers,

Many runs behind the team named for Cleveland.

A lone boy our age unknown to us watches.

Desperate, we ask him if he can pitch.

Yes he said, we said please do, and he did.

Though we rallied, we still lost. We invited the boy

To join our team, and told him when next we would meet.

Happily and innocently we parted, and went

In separate directions down the street.

When next we met several teammates spoke in anger

Parroting voices from their homes

That echoed the irrational hate of generations past,

And so our coach sent the new boy home.

After the game we left the field, all in the same

Direction this time.

But not quite as happy or quite as innocent

Nor feeling quite as fine.

Never again as innocents would we meet.