Smell of gloveleather
oiled in neatsfoot
smooth ash bat handle
heft on my shoulder
scrape of metal spikes
on concrete sidewalk
crisp chalklines
on soft tan dirt
seamed cowhide sphere
cupped in my hand
ballcap tugged snug
steppin’ on the diamond
remembering you dad
*
rob kistner © 2022
Poetry at: dVerse
Dad managed my high school hardball team. I managed both my sons after he passed. This coming summer, my surviving son will again manage my grandson, this time in his first year in Little League — and so it goes.
Glad to see you making memories real for us! Hope you’re feeling better.
Thank you Xan. Getting there?
baseball (and dad) nicely captured
Thank you Ron.
You rarely disappoint, Rob mate, as in never….this descriptive verse is the quadrille should have written, that intricate and detailed description….with stunning ending…I learnt something there…
You are so kind Ain — thank! 🙂
This is perfection. My Dad played. My brother played. Both of my kids played tee-ball when they were 3 and 4 (what fun that was!) These sights and sounds and smells carry so many memories for me. So glad the chalk took you there.
Healing hugs, my friend. Thankful to your beautiful Kathy for updating us over at the bar.
Thank you so much De! I am getting slong, but that was scary. Nothing I had experienced in my life, and I have had, and still do have all kinds of health issues
thank you De. Feeling a bit more like myself, and thsnk you for being kind to Kathy!
I really love your tribute to your dad! Such great memories and images. Take me out the the ball game…. ”
Hope all is well and you are back on track again!
thanks Dwight, I am getting there slowly!
Loved my adoptive dad, he was my hero Dwight!
That was a wonderful share. The chalklines on a baseball field hold many memories for you.
Thank you True, and yes they do! 🙂 .
Deep ones True!
Touching. I love this original look at chalk. A use I had forgotten about.
Thank you K.
Goes way back in my family!
Hugs. This is awesome.
Much love
Thank you Gillena.
Thank you my friend.
This is awesome!!! I love it to pieces. <3
Thank you Shawna.
Thank you.
Evocative piece, Rob. I can smell that leather. Sports and fathers, that realtionship is universal, you capture it well…JIM
Thank you James — it’s love! 🙂
Thank you James.
Rob, I love how your family has carried on the tradition. I had no idea you played hardball (is that baseball with a hard ball?) Your grandson is getting older. Time flies. I can see you there in the bleachers, watching your son with the team of young tykes.
It is a tradition we love Lisa. My wife Kathy is a helluva softball player.
4 generations now!
Lovely. Really lovely.
Thank you Misky.
Thank you Misky!
Incredibly vivid and sweet!
Thank you David.
Thsnks David!
Thank you David!
OH how I love this, ROB. Baseball, the crack of a bat, the crowds, a hotdog and crackerjack box, the ST. LOUIS Cardinals. My dad who ferried me across the Mississippi from Illinois to Missouri for games as a child. Two teams the Browns and the Cards.
Thank you Helen.
Thank you Hellen. Shen I lived in Cincy for 50 years it was ALWAYS & ONLY “The Big Red Machine”. Some of the best base ball ever played.
Sich a wonderful share, Rob.
Thank you punam!