I think it would be more interesting
if there were trenches and obstacles.
Some netting that players have to crawl under.
Mud pits. Occasional gator.
Or parallel pitches with parallel games.
Whose outcomes are tied together. But
the 2nd pitch plays with hot-crossed buns
and catches with aprons.
Perhaps, at the beginning of every game
a silly walk is randomly chosen
and strictly enforced.
In order to sit in the dugout
players must make all their equipment
from raw materials. A companion show
leading up to the season, tracks
each player’s skill and progress.
I’d like it if the size of the ball
waxes and wanes by 50%
according to the lunar cycle.
Maybe a race of random toddlers
decides who starts at bat.
The winning and losing toddlers
get guaranteed prepaid college educations.
Mid-game, for 1 inning
a malfunctioning tennis-ball-launcher
could do all pitching. Points count as usual.
Teams specially recruit for chaos-handlers.
One game per season could
be played entirely on stilts.
Final ball could have an enclosed secret message.
Revealed at game end by a ceremonial cleaving.
Then read aloud by a slam poet. In rare cases
it might change the way we see the world.
Ren Pike grew up in Newfoundland. Through sheer luck, she was born into a family who understood the exceptional value of a library card. Her work has appeared in journals such as Train, FEED, and Pithead Chapel. When she is not writing, she wrangles data for non-profit organizations in Calgary, Canada. Find her on Twitter @sputta
