Jackie Robinson West

I have appreciated reading your poems of late, Mom and Dan, especially in this busy period when I haven't had much time to comment or post otherwise.  It's always good, I find, to take time to simply read and enjoy a good poem, and I'm glad we have this place.

In that spirit, today I'd like to share a published poem from Mary Schmich, without her permission and hopefully with the Tribune's tolerance given our limited family audience, but in any case with much respect for the Trib’s well placed page 3 columnist in Mike Royko’s old spot.


A Poem to Our Boys of Summer —
Jackie Robinson West

by Mary Schmich


We'll line up on this Wednesday morn

Awaiting the parade

We'll come to give them one last cheer

And thanks for how they played.

.

By "they" I mean the team of boys

Who stirred Chicago's pride

A team with grit and heart and skill

And raised on our South Side.

.

Some players were not 5 feet tall

Each one was still a kid

But now the world has heard their name

And knows just what they did.

.

Their name was Jackie Robinson

(To which they added West)

They showed their namesake — 42 —

They'd give his game their best.

.

For two weeks of our summertime

They gave us all a lift.

Amid the worries of the world

They landed like a gift.

.

In parks and bars and living rooms

We sat and watched them win

(We helped them give a ratings gift

To dear ESPN.)

.

And what a gift to Rahm as well!

Big news that's not a downer!

They even scored a bunch of tweets

From Durbin, Quinn and Rauner.

.


They made the Cubs look Little League

They made the Sox look old

From North to South, we loved these boys

Decked out in blue and gold.

.

Luster, Benton, Radcliff too

Plus Hondras, Noble, King

These little heirs to Robinson

They made the old game sing.

.

Ed Howard, Butler, Jackson, Green

Plus Houston, Bufford, Jones

These 13 boys, they played like men

With all their hearts and bones.

.

They clobbered Lynnwood, Washington,

Then whomped poor Philly — yay!

(Although it was a wee bit sad

To see them beat Mo'Ne.)

.

Nevada stomped them once, and then

They swallowed their distress

They marched back on the field and left

As champs of the U.S.

.

So what if in the final match

They lost the game to Seoul?

They made our fractured city seem,

For just a moment, whole.

.

Some said it was a fairy tale

The way they beat the odds

But this was not a fairy tale

And not the work of gods.

.

The boys of Jackie Robinson

Are in the end just boys

They're kids who learned to win and lose

And focus through the noise.

.

They showed what work and hope can do

With coaches there to guide

With help from friends and family who

Know work is key to pride.

.

They might not change Chicago

And they will not end its woes.

Our troubles and our worries

Carry on, and so it goes.

.

Though 67 years have passed

Since Robinson broke through

And breached the baseball color line

There's still a lot to do.

.

The problems of the city,

Its divisions and its fears

Will still be here tomorrow

When we're finished with the cheers.

.

But when they ride up Aberdeen

And north on Halsted Street

The heirs to Jackie Robinson

Will give us something sweet.

.

For one more day we'll get the chance

To all be one big team

For one more day we'll get the chance

To witness that great dream.

.

Then when the cheers are over and

When all the fanfare's done

There's just this final thing to say:

You sure made summer fun.




mschmich@tribune.com
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