Diamonds Are a Boy’s Best Friend
I was smooth at second,
my “Little Looie” Aparicio mitt magnetic,
attracting hot grounders and line drives
to center, slap zap slap hardballs
with smeared seams would be
welcomed by me, my glove,
and the love I shared with teammates
and opponents on dusty, rocky
diamonds all across that Midwest city,
the sun naked and fiery in a summer sky.
….
This poem is from the chapbook Spin: Tales from the Diamond by J. R. Thelín (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/spin-tales-from-the-diamond-by-j-r-thelin/
J. R. Thelin’s collections of poems include Last Cha Cha in Albuquerque (2017) and Breath Into Bone (2010), as well as three previous chapbooks: Those Last Few Moments of Light: Poems of the Dead Boy (2023); The Way Out West (2005); and Dorrance, Narrative, History (2004). After working for many years in Development, Thelin retired as senior development researcher from University of Virginia in 2020.
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