The Strikeout

Standing at the plate there is no doubt The pitcher is determined to strike me out He squints to see the catcher's glove Then spins and swings his arms above The ball scorches a path across the plate I feebly swing six days too late The umpire acts like he's having fun When he bellowed out, "STRIKE ONE!" Again the pitcher stares at the dish While I silently make a wish Not a big request at all I only want to hit the ball The pitcher rears back and throws a curve The ball starts over there and then begins to swerve I miss so badly I hit the ground I can hear people laughing all the way back in town The umpire is having a belly laugh too As he holds up two fingers and shouts, "STRIKE TWO!" The pitcher is doing a cocky dance While behind the mound hiking up his pants He looks smug and I hear the catcher say, "Give it up boy, he's putting you away." The pitcher shakes off signs 1,2,3 He's saving a special pitch just for me He peeks out over the top of his glove I can tell that this strikeout he already loves He winds up like a crazy corkscrew Slinging a pitch he has never threw I close my eyes and jerk the bat Somehow the bat finds where the ball is at The crack was the loudest ever heard Nowhere in this stadium can you hear a word You can hear a pin drop in this place Nary a smile on any face You would think that ball was launched into outer space But alas, it is just a dribbler to first base I feel I should get out of town When I saw the other team high-fiving on the mound Dad said, "Don't worry son, we'll get them next time champ." After all it was just my first bat at Little League camp!