Old Timey Baseball at Decomissioned Fort Vancouver, Washington
Old-Timey Baseball at Decommissioned Fort Vancouver, Washington
Penelope Scambly Schott
Dressed like 1860 on the grassy Parade Ground,
they ladle water from a tin bucket.
Huzzah, huzzah,
the hirsute players cheer from the bench.
Crazylegs is the hurler and Tiny, the striker.
They are playing this game by the vintage rules
as we count strikes but never balls,
and the fielders wear no gloves.
So what?
A glove can’t catch a cannonball.
They play as if the Civil War hadn’t happened.
As if our eyes hadn’t seen the glory.
As if we weren’t a hundred and fifty years sadder.
Instead, on this perfect afternoon,
the ladies in their crinolines
pass iced tea, twirling their pastel parasols
over opposing benches
of yet undamaged fine young men.
Penelope Scambly Schott is a retired English professor who continues to scribble. She has published a novel and several books and chapbooks of poetry.
Michael C. Paul is an illustrator, writer, and historian. He grew up outside of Kansas City, has moved around a bit over the years working as a history professor, illustrator, and occasionally an editorial cartoonist, and now lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter. For more, visit https://mikepaulart.com or @MikePaulArt.
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