December 5, 2024
Poetry
Venting Frustration on the Baseball Field, When the gods Retire (Willie Mays as a Met)
Artwork by DALL·E
{# SECURITY: feature.body is author/editor-controlled HTML (docx or pandoc parse output) rendered unsanitized. The docx-API extractor now escapes raw run text before wrapping it in // (2026-07-14 audit, C1/C2), and the pandoc subprocess now has a timeout, but a full nh3/bleach allow-list pass over the final HTML was deliberately NOT added here — it risks changing how already-published features render. Still open for a dedicated pass; see SECURITY_AUDIT_2026-07-14.md. #}
Venting Frustration on the Baseball Field When Roger Clemens, perhaps snapping in some steroidal spasm, Smoldering in combativeness, as if lathered in some tribal custom, Threw the barrel of Mike Piazza’s bat back at him, And a shadow over the World Series, he stayed in the game, Despite his best efforts to turn the Subway Series Into a boxing match between two teams. When I threw a bat in frustration, once, in Pony League, Coach pulled me off the field, My mom took me home, and my parents threatened To never let me set foot on another field. Things are sure mighty different in the big leagues. When the gods Retire (Willie Mays as a Met) When Willie Mays returned to New York as a Met, More myth and symbol than everyday ballplayer, Batted balls that fronted the warning-track wall And stretched across the broad, centerfield lawn, Soared unshadowed to become doubles and triples. The golden glove who once captured those long and loud outs And washed away the mistakes of his pitchers, like baptism, Nowadays, had trouble keeping up in the outfield, As the greatest ballplayer God ever fashioned, Quickly and humbled realized, that even he too, can’t play forever.
Related content
{# SECURITY: feature.author_bio is escaped by expand_author_bio() before the "Profiles:" links are appended (2026-07-14 audit, C2) — safe by construction, kept |safe only because that function returns real HTML. #}
Matthew Johnson is the author of the poetry collections, Shadow Folks and Soul Songs (Kelsay Books), Far from New York State (NYQ Press), and the chapbook, Too Short to Box with God (Finishing Line Press). His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The African American Review, Front Porch Review, London Magazine, and elsewhere. He has been recognized with Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominations, a scholarship from the Hudson Valley Writers Center, and as a finalist in Grand View University's Diverse Voices Book Award. He’s the managing editor of The Portrait of New England and poetry editor of The Twin Bill.
Profiles:
Website: http://matthewjohnsonpoetry.com/
