Marah Blake
1. If you ask for its history The Green Monster will tell you it was built that way: Charged to protect the city of Boston from the best of athleticism. A solemn oath from a towering guardian. It will tell you about the first day to the present, How it reached as high as it could to protect the shops on Lansdowne. And we call it a monster. 2. There are several ways to emerge from a slump The most popular being rest, practice, charms and routines. Now When all is lost We know these things can bring it back: Boost those RBIs! Cast shadows over the left field fence! Show the Green Monster who we really are! One player liked to peel a baseball Break its seams Taste its sweaty fruit Spit the strands into the ground. The only way to subdue it (I think) Was to see its make. 3. The answer is there, somehow. Revisit those plays. Mark where your swing is off; Mark the number of blinks. What is being communicated? Something is always being communicated. There is a reason you keep missing. 4. At intake she said You read too many depressing biographies. She was allowed to say this Because it was a joke: No such thing as too many biographies. She reminded me to breathe. There is always a reason. 5. If you sing it enough, Sweet Caroline will sing back to you, And in that duet you will find your momentum. You only have to trust. 6. She reminded me to breathe. So many people (I think) Faint 'cause they forget. Players cascading across the field Their uniforms peppering the earth Until every position is covered What a thing! The batter falling into the catcher Falling into the umpire Falling against the cage. The game called on account of nerves. 7. They slowly built their expectations: To sleep, to talk, to sleep A bit of time in the gymnasium. If I worked hard enough Maybe I'd try again some day? For now A life of practice Because the way through Is through practice For the day I can say "I know this now because I have practiced," Secure in that muscle memory. All I need is time And practice. 8. The Cooperville Institute Baseball Game commenced on an unseasonably warm day in spring. A break from our training: Take the worst of our thoughts and put it to use Work that muscle 'til it works for you. I struck out at first I'm sure I don't think they kept score But I kept working that muscle Made my gray matter soar. I said If I'm here another month, let's start a league. I used to be best at third base. I think I could be again, with practice. 9. If you ask the Green Monster about its greatest fear It won't say, Home runs It will say, Their loathing. What a thing: To be cursed from the start. To be muttered and blamed. Thy name spit Until a winning streak. What a thing! (I cried) What a thing, Looka that swing! What a thing! What a thing! What a thing!
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