PUNK POETRY: Washington Senator by Pete Mladinic

Washington Senators

 

Whose autograph would you rather have, Albert Einstein 

or Taylor Swift? 

Pedro Ramos, a pitcher, 

ran the fastest of any in the Majors.

 

His cursive scrolls across blue-lined paper; 

his thin, curvy lips, good eyes, light brown hair, 

a contrast to swarthy Camilo Pascual, the better pitcher.  

Both are Washington Senators, the American League cellar.

 

Pedro about to board a bus outside Yankee Stadium, 

the sky overcast, I hand him pen and paper,

see his signature. He and Camilo raised in Batista’s Cuba,

Pascual is the Senators’ ace. My friend Ray 

 

Birmingham, a renowned coach, could tell you their best pitches.

The name’s letters glide above a blue line, Ramos glides 

across outfield grass, timed, faster than all other pitchers.

I lost the autograph, 

 

the paper in folds, that lay on a walnut end table.

Who won that day?  Ray could tell me about the ‘57 Senators’

starters. Pascual already on the bus,

my life and Ramos’s collide.

--Pete Mladinic