Poem: The Guy in the Seat Next to You [Dodger Stadium Suite]
The challenge for a poet at the ball game
is a triplicate predicament.
He must not swoon over the greenness of the grass.
He must not view every little lovely detail as a metaphor waiting to be transcribed for posterity.
He must not recite rambling stories with no discernible point
except to subtly imply it was all somehow better back when he was a boy
when baseball was a mystery, not a business.
Do not sit next to this man
gleefully noting the aural pastiche of cracks and whizzes and pops,
a Partch percussion symphony trimmed in wood and cowhide.
He will talk your ear off if you let him.
For an audio recording of MK Punky reading “The Guy in the Seat Next to You,” click: here.
Very good work, liked it as I like going to Dodger Stadium and enjoying the grass, the zig-zag roof over the bleachers, and the palm trees out in the parking lot. As a kid growing up in Chicago watching the Cubs on WGN I used to see those things, and think, wow, what kind of trees are those? Pretty cool to see them in person.
Great park, great poem. Take care. BK
Listened to it to on the link, nice feature.