ginen sounding lines

                                                                ~
remember just dad
tied an old tire to

a metal fence pole
so [we] could practice

pitching—o say can you hear
the hollow sound when

the baseball strikes
rubber—the rattling when

it strikes wire—or
that perfect sound—

speak english only—
when [we] strike the pole

through the center of—o
say can you remember

just little league—barrigada
"tigers"—black and gold

uniforms—red seams—
my brother played for father

duenas memorial high school
"friars"—maroon and gold

uniforms—to pledge allegiance—
[we] collected american

baseball cards and cheered
for the "bash brothers"

in "oakland"—near where
brian moved for college blue

skies—thecoliseum was
an island—green and

gold uniforms—white
bases—[we] stand

to sing the national 
anthem—o say

can you see
[us]—what follows

your flag?
Copyright Credit: Craig Santos Perez, "ginen sounding lines" from From Unincorporated Territory [guma']. Copyright © 2014 by Craig Santos Perez.  Reprinted by permission of Omnidawn Publishing.
Source: From Unincorporated Territory [guma'] (Omnidawn Publishing, 2014)