The Outfield Wall

The Outfield Wall

When the left fielder
smashes into the outfield wall

cranium-first, the medic sprints out
and crouches next to him,

close, studying the player’s face
like he loves him. Maybe the crowd

goes away for the men, and the game,
there is only the green wall,

the red dust, the green field,
words, and pain. We can’t hear

the player but we know what he says:
here’s how it happened,

and here’s how it feels. What it is
and then what it is like.