antrea

TITLE: I Had A Dream That Chris Davis Was In Love

and it explained what happened, the ending, the rebuild.

It was his contract, but also, it wasn’t. Because

they were always destined to leave, almost everyone,

the guys he lost to the deadline trades, no contracts,

unsigned prospects, franchise pieces that walk.

[stanza break]

He wins. He loses. He loses again. He loses friends,

teammates, coworkers, brothers, lovers –

he can call them what he wants. Everyone saw him fall 

in love on the diamond. And now who does he call when 

he runs a cold streak of 54 games without a single hit?

[stanza break]

Salvation is one thing and grace is another.

Maybe his batting average is how God evens the score 

after he had lost everyone he fell in love with. Or maybe 

that's just professional sports. He wins and loses,

takes and gives, breathes and chokes on grace every game.

The ballpark’s as much a cathedral as anything else,

but his teammates, his coworkers are more forgiving.

Maybe his brothers, lovers, they wanted to save him too.

[stanza break]

He got “SALVATION” tattooed on his arm, a reminder that 

there’s an end to this untidy life, but his savior is not

waiting above him in a cloudless summer sky. 

His savior is the dirt in his cleats, the gloves on his hands,

the chalk, the bat, the deck. The swing and the miss.

His savior is the men embracing him in the dugout after,