This baseball haiku is dedicated to Shannon Stone, who tragically fell to his death at last night’s baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics. Stone fell while reaching for a ball for his 6-year old son.
I witnessed a death
I was twelve when it happened
Changed me forever
Wealthy family
Daughter’s bat-mitzvah party
Day at country home
There was a hayride
So many of us piled on
Endlessly laughing
In a split second
The joy and frivolity
Were gone, only horror
A girl, my age, fell
Off the hayride, to the ground
Between front, back tires
Chaos first, then shock
In a split second, our friend
Our dear friend was gone
More than twenty years
Went by, before I even
Looked at a hayride
Then my kids were born
And the nearby pumpkin patch
Offered kids hayrides
I couldn’t say no
My kids should feel the joy, laugh
That is what kids do
So on the hayride
Hugging them close, being safe
But laughing with joy
A boy lost his dad
His guide to loving baseball
Gone in an instant
All who love baseball
We owe it to Shannon Stone
Teach his son the game
Teach his son the rules
The history, the players
The joy of baseball
