The Banishment of Moses Fleetwood Walker

The Banishment of Moses Fleetwood Walker

By Matthew Johnson

Illustration by Mark Mosley

While waiting for a pitching change
That has grown into a heated debate
Between a frustrated manager and a stubborn pitcher,
Ernie Banks waits in his position,
And grows queasy standing under a pitiless sun for so long.
 
Careening to his knees from the heat, a man appears to Mr. Cub,
Stretching out a hand to help lift him up.
And like Saul, or Nat Turner, seeing the Son of God,
Ernie Banks sees a dream-like figure,
And it is no other than Moses Fleetwood Walker before him.  
 
The martyr of black baseball, while helping the slugger from the dirt,
Warns the Chicago shortstop to embrace it all, the ups and downs of the sport:
Play two if you must. For I will tell you what they told me at my final game.
You shall not play two. You shall not play one more. 
You shall not play today, and you shall not play tomorrow…. 

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 appears/is forthcoming in The African American Review, London Magazine, Up the Staircase Quarterly, and elsewhere. He has received recognition and nominations for the Best of the Net, the Pushcart Prize, the Hudson Valley Writers Center, Sundress Publications, and Grand View University. He’s the managing editor of The Portrait of New England. Originally from Upstate New York and Connecticut, he now lives in North Carolina, rooting for the Yankees and always having his eyes out for the Mets. matthewjohnsonpoetry.com

Mark Mosley is a public school 7th grade math teacher. He draws baseball cards when he is not driving his son to baseball or his daughter to gymnastics. His cards can be seen on Twitter @mosley_mark, on Instagram @idrawbaseballcards, and can be purchased at https://idrawbaseballcards.bigcartel.com/

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