Elysian Fields Quarterly - The Baseball Review

Even in Texas, where humans & cattle
Are spaced far apart,
Failure has a way of catching up with us.
Estragon & Vladimir know, &
Everybody in the minor leagues knows
That life is a place where you wait & wait & wait,
That in some parts of the human heart
It is always 150 degrees in the shade.
Here I am, one more season
With the Midland Rockhounds,
When all I want to do is play in the Majors,
Leave behind Christensen Stadium &
Take the next plane to Oakland
Where a million dollars is just another pay day.
Troy Glaus started here, & Jim Edmonds,
It takes a will of iron to survive,
To survive even in our fantasies
The narrati o fabulosa of a Nolan Ryan fastball,
The stuff of legends. On October 25, 1820,
In another universe, not a parallel one,
Ralph Waldo Emerson inscribed in his journal:
"I need excitement." I need excitement too.
Everybody needs a bit of excitement.
Greg Martinez is taking batting practice, &
Curt Young, the pitching coach,
Is waving at me to begin my warm-ups.
My whole life has been a warm-up for this moment, &
Like rookies on this roster I'm tired of waiting.
Now the Rockhound fans straggle in.
They're waiting too, waiting for the game to begin.

—EFQ