With Wooden Bats

we all wore simple baseball hats
and played the game with wooden bats
with old worn sneakers tied in knots
just pick-up teams in back yard lots

gloves made out of oiled leather
rawhide laces held together
and even if they didn’t fit
we somehow made the best of it

home plate, a square drawn in the dirt
first base was someone’s extra shirt
we hit the ball and ran the bases
with dirty hands and sweaty faces

we taught the young kids how to play
made lifelong friends along the way
those many days in summer fields
of playing ball ‘til daylight yields