9 Comments

Really good poem and an excellent discussion. Thanks for introducing me to Ben Meyers.

I wanted to toss this log on the fire. The Boys of Summer is not my favorite Kahn book. I deeply love, “Good Enough To Dream”, a book about young men on the cusp, playing in the low minor leagues, just holding on to the tatters of their pennant dreams. https://a.co/d/efSHqwd

Expand full comment
Sep 25Liked by Joseph Bottum

Thanks for this. Wonderful poem. I sent it to my son in celebration of our beloved team clinching the AL West title last night!

Expand full comment
founding

I appreciate the mention. "New Verse Review" had a wonderful first issue and I was danged lucky to be included. For future reference, I'm J.S. Absher, not J.B. This is not a big deal--I didn't catch the misspelling of my name on the spine of my first book, and found I could live with the error quite easily (the spine is very thin, so no one has ever noticed it).

Expand full comment
author

Fixed

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Sally Thomas, Joseph Bottum

What a beautiful poem- especially enjoy “summer’s waxing tide / of yellowed grass in air as furred as smoke;” and that home-run of a final couplet 😉- great!!

Expand full comment
founding

I agree, and I also like particularly "finding something out about almost, / not quite, and could have been," those difficult lessons of youth (and after youth, too.)

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Sally Thomas, Joseph Bottum

Really lovely poem. Almost an elegy but without despair because (one presumes) the player is young still, the seasons are cyclical, and someday he'll grow as an oak in another field. Also, have other team sports inspired as much poetry as baseball? Are there pickleball poets?

Expand full comment
Sep 24Liked by Sally Thomas, Joseph Bottum

Pickleball poets!! Thanks for making me laugh this morning. ALSO, not poetry, but possibly the most hilarious round of literary pickleball is in Randy Boyagoda’s novel “Original Prin”

Expand full comment