The Man he Called Coach

With a slap of the leather,

crack of the bat, and the

score board lights cheering

the home team.

The memories of a young boy;

have become the nightmare of an old man.

How young boy wanted to see the Dodgers play!

How the tears fell when washing

his uniform in the bathtub!

He knew he was the only one not going,

and his drunken father would never know.

But for one night and one night only

a man would take his father’s place, and the

young boy would go to his first baseball game.

While the Red Stocking’s uniform hung on

the shower curtain. The young boy’s

mind thought back to how he explained to coach

he couldn’t find his father,

and he had no money for the game.

But that’s ok; he would be at their game tomorrow

because he would just ride his bike.

He had learned early on that day dreaming helped

stop the hunger pains, and all he had was TV.

Then a knock at the door, and standing there

was the man he called coach. “Let’s go”, he said.

Soon the wet uniform carried no cause or thought,

for he was looking at his daydreams coming true,

and again it’s something his father never knew.

This would be the greatest night of his life;

a Dodger dog and soda the greatest meal

of his life. For one night a coach had taken the place

 of his drunken father, and he was never happier.