Have Fun Kid

Riding my bike at a frantic pace

While I balanced a bat on my handlebars

I passed an old man on the sidewalk

He saw in me the youth he once possessed

And the countless hours he spent on a sandlot field

He acknowledges me

With a smile and by saying,

“Have fun kid”.

I then tipped my Tigers cap at him

And looked in his reminiscent eyes

Then I conjured a polite

 “I will, Sir”.

At that moment he is not 70

At that moment I am not 19

In our hearts and minds

We are just two 10-year-olds

On a baseball diamond

Arguing balls and strikes

Like it was game 7 of the World Series

We are not looking back on

How good we once were

We instead remember the subtle joys

Of running down a fly ball

Stretching a single into a double

And the beauty of playing baseball

On a hot summer night

As I was standing bare foot

Letting the cool outfield grass

Nestle under me like Shoeless Joe did

I looked towards home plate and smiled

Because all I could think about

Was what that old man said

“Have fun kid".