Hits and Runs
Hits and Runs - meaning Summary
Evening Baseball as Memory
The poem recollects a long, dusk-ending baseball game, presenting it as a vivid memory of physical exertion and fading light. Players are reduced to colored masses—"red smoke" and "yellow smoke"—against the sundown, emphasizing atmosphere over individual names. The umpires are central through sound: a hoarse voice calling the game and a throat "fought in the dust for a song," suggesting fatigue, struggle, and a lyrical human presence amid sport.
Read Complete AnalysesI REMEMBER the Chillicothe ball players grappling the Rock Island ball players in a sixteen-inning game ended by darkness. And the shoulders of the Chillicothe players were a red smoke against the sundown and the shoulders of the Rock Island players were a yellow smoke against the sundown. And the umpire's voice was hoarse calling balls and strikes and outs and the umpire's throat fought in the dust for a song.
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