Our Ball is a Cabbage

OUR BALL IS A CABBAGE

Our ball is a cabbage. Our bat’s a zucchini.

Our jerseys are cardboard and moldy linguini.

Our gloves are assembled from brown paper bags.

Our caps are collections of tissues and rags.

Our cleats are constructed from pieces of plastic

and hamburger wrappers and slimy elastic.

The bases are bottles and old windshield wipers,

and home is a heap of disposable diapers.

I’ve heard people tell me that baseball’s a thrill,

but try playing us, and it might make you ill.

You’ll cringe and you’ll shudder. You might even scream

when playing a game with my litter league team.

--Eric Ode