APRIL 17, 1942, JACKIE ROBINSON GETS HIS FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HIT AND WE STILL US

if you ever stood at the plate

looked out at the mound and saw fang and

the future burned bodies of the first

favorite passtime and a pastlife on

a painful pasture and a pastor telling you

of your birthright of burden

if you knew he was having a ball spitting

your way and had a ball was going low and

going high and to the right whispering

nigger in your ear as it whizzed past

your head better duck better duck better

batter batter bitter change up but you

know it ain’t no change up at all

if you could see the curveball coming

before you got to the game before they

gave you a number and a position before

they trusted you with a bat

and if you ever took a bunt when a home run

was easy but you knew a home run could

easily mean a hard run home