Sep 2017
WHERE THEY AIN'T
( for Kyle )
The sea was drowning
in men
strings of soldiers
like a macabre daisy chain
floating together...a human seaweed
the tide turning red
machine gun fire
stinging the water
so that the waves leapt up
like men of water
mimicking the terror
of our flesh our blood
"JesusJesusJesus!"
I kept hearing myself
saying as if I
wasn't me.
Gramps woulda killed me
for taking the Good Name in vain.
Guess I ain't in Omaha no more.
An officer torn in two
bullets ripping across his torso
tearing along the dotted line
like he was a special offer
as easy as that…as easy as that.
One moment you're here
the next...not.
Keep hearing Gramps
talking to me in my head.
"Keep your eye clear..."
as he'd always say
no matter what
the situation or occasion
"...and hit 'em
where they ain't!"
But life ain't always
as clear cut as a baseball game.
And I could never bat for nuts.
I rattled off the names
of the teams of then
to drown out the death rattle
of machine guns...dying men.
"Cleavland Spiders
Trolley Doddgers
Sioux City Cornhuskers
Boston Beaneaters
Allegheny Innocents
Bronx Bombers!"
"Jesus couldn't remember
Jesus Jesus what was
the name of the Yankees
before they was the Yankees?"
Now I was
chanting them like a charm
to ward off fear and death
names V. bullets.
Some guys mown down
even as the ramp hit the water
most guys dying
soon as they hit the water
only making it to the shore
as corpses.
"Don't wanna be dead…don't wanna be dead!"
A kid Jesus just a kid
screaming hysterically
just before he got it
in the head.
His gore splattered
all over me.
"Orioles...Orioles...Orioles!"
I keep chanting to my self
always loved
the sound of the word.
The Germans in their pillboxes
keeping the score
more of us dead
than living now.
I get it in the leg - then the other leg.
Crawl into a hole until nightfall.
Live to tell the tale.
So many many didn't.
Pretending I am
seeing with Gramps' eyes.
Wee Willie peerless place hitter of 1903
the little fellow…the big guy
facing the twirlers fearlessly.
"Always keep a clean eye..."
Gramps says
to the kid I was
"...and hit 'em…hit 'em
...where they ain't
These-famous words were spoken by an early 1900s American baseball player named "Wee" Willie Keeler. Keeler was short in stature but had a phenomenal record at the plate, hitting over .300 in 16 of his 19 major league seasons. When asked about his success, his response and advice to other hitters was simply: "Keep your eye clear, and hit 'em where they ain't."
( for Kyle )
The sea was drowning
in men
strings of soldiers
like a macabre daisy chain
floating together...a human seaweed
the tide turning red
machine gun fire
stinging the water
so that the waves leapt up
like men of water
mimicking the terror
of our flesh our blood
"JesusJesusJesus!"
I kept hearing myself
saying as if I
wasn't me.
Gramps woulda killed me
for taking the Good Name in vain.
Guess I ain't in Omaha no more.
An officer torn in two
bullets ripping across his torso
tearing along the dotted line
like he was a special offer
as easy as that…as easy as that.
One moment you're here
the next...not.
Keep hearing Gramps
talking to me in my head.
"Keep your eye clear..."
as he'd always say
no matter what
the situation or occasion
"...and hit 'em
where they ain't!"
But life ain't always
as clear cut as a baseball game.
And I could never bat for nuts.
I rattled off the names
of the teams of then
to drown out the death rattle
of machine guns...dying men.
"Cleavland Spiders
Trolley Doddgers
Sioux City Cornhuskers
Boston Beaneaters
Allegheny Innocents
Bronx Bombers!"
"Jesus couldn't remember
Jesus Jesus what was
the name of the Yankees
before they was the Yankees?"
Now I was
chanting them like a charm
to ward off fear and death
names V. bullets.
Some guys mown down
even as the ramp hit the water
most guys dying
soon as they hit the water
only making it to the shore
as corpses.
"Don't wanna be dead…don't wanna be dead!"
A kid Jesus just a kid
screaming hysterically
just before he got it
in the head.
His gore splattered
all over me.
"Orioles...Orioles...Orioles!"
I keep chanting to my self
always loved
the sound of the word.
The Germans in their pillboxes
keeping the score
more of us dead
than living now.
I get it in the leg - then the other leg.
Crawl into a hole until nightfall.
Live to tell the tale.
So many many didn't.
Pretending I am
seeing with Gramps' eyes.
Wee Willie peerless place hitter of 1903
the little fellow…the big guy
facing the twirlers fearlessly.
"Always keep a clean eye..."
Gramps says
to the kid I was
"...and hit 'em…hit 'em
...where they ain't
These-famous words were spoken by an early 1900s American baseball player named "Wee" Willie Keeler. Keeler was short in stature but had a phenomenal record at the plate, hitting over .300 in 16 of his 19 major league seasons. When asked about his success, his response and advice to other hitters was simply: "Keep your eye clear, and hit 'em where they ain't."
