the first baseman

the first baseman

for Joe Adcock

By Mary E. Croy

he puts his hands on his knees and admires
the collective smell of countless
blades of grass
the crispness of a foul lines
with their geometry of forever

slapping his glove
he thinks of the mangrove swamps of home
how the twisted trees refused to follow the rules
but here, inside these measured lines
and green walls
everything is fair

Mary E. Croy lives in Madison, Wisconsin where she works as an administrative assistant. She spent nine years teaching English Language Learners in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. During her free time, Mary likes reading poetry and hanging out with her cats, Buster and Gabby. Her work has appeared in Better than Starbucks, Woven Tale Press, and Valley Voices, among others.

Jason David Córdova lives in Puerto Rico as an illustrator and painter. Some of his art can be seen on Instagram at @jasoni72.

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