Dearly beloved, we are gathered here
Today
to plaay ball!
American Anthem, hat in hand-
Bleary eyes and bottle for a microphone-
Small town karaoke version of patriotism vomited in the evening air
With beer- and bated breath they waited
for the first pitch-
Foul ball and foul attitude washed down with a ballpark frank covered in mustard
Sweaty hands sail dreams in paper airplanes toward home plate-
Hometown heroes get the 21 gun salute.
The prompt is “dearly beloved we are gathered here today” from Maria Giesbrecht @theguelphpoet on Instagram. April 6, National Poetry Month 2022.