From Slips: Cricket Poems by Mark Pirie

A Song of Kane

Captain Kane, glowing with runs,
can’t put a pad or glove wrong.
I try to get my bat around it
but it’s seaming impossible.
I always miss, or get edgy about it.
his tip is to watch the ball
on delivery, out of the hand.
His focus on seam stitches up the play.
In life, in cricket, a stroke
of genius comes your way.
Bowie sang the song of KW,
We can be Heroes, just for one day.

Quatrain

For Ross Taylor

Rosco often proves his mettle;
He plays the best knocks.
For that I offer humble tribute.
Rosco with wood guitar clearly rocks.

Cricket and Writing

Cricket watching...
why do we do it?
It’s like that other FAQ:
why do we write?
We can dress it up
in a cap or uniform
give it tradition
and fame.
Call it a pastime
or a reverie.
Cricket and poems
tend to write themselves.
You can practice technique,
make words or balls spin
and bounce and seam.
The audience for both is vast.
Cricket watching and writing? Why?
I can only answer,
Why not? as words flash from a pen
and balls sail into the crowd.

Poems ©Mark Pirie 2021