Somewhere
another sun
another blue ball
blue oceans.
And maybe
just maybe
its version of
boys
dozens of them
play a game
with a ball
that is kicked
or thrown
or both.
Play with
no bad blood
that leads
to intentional bruises
or racial slurs
for color shades
skin tones
used to exclude
the likes
of Satchel
Buck
and Josh.
copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney
postscript
I was pleased when Major League Baseball decided to include the Negro Leagues as “Major Leagues” and merge their statistics together. In this poem Satchel refers to Satchel Paige. Buck refers to Buck Leonard. And Josh refers to Josh Gibson.
Umflop 