Is This Heaven? – No, It’s Iowa 

I watched a baseball game last night
played on the Field of Dreams
it reminded all those watching
baseball is much more than it seems

Players took the field
walking slowly out of the corn
White Sox versus the Yankees
vintage uniforms were worn

The diamond was surrounded by cornfields,
a corn maze for the children,
the homestead where the film was shot,
the old wood bleachers, and a new buildin’

The game was interspersed with film clips
of Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones
enough to make the hair on your neck stand up
and tingle you to your bones

Home runs were hit and they went deep
over the fence and into the corn
amid a perfect Iowa sunset
yes, this should be the norm

A baseball field in an Iowa cornfield
many said it could not be done
others had it in their heart to push on
it was built and they did come

The nostalgia blanketed everything
inducing many to have a catch
while others just sat and stared
amazed to be a witness to this match

Baseball is the one constant
through the years and many teams
a baseball game took place last night
played on the Field of Dreams

——

Background: Last night (August 12, 2021), Major League Baseball played its first ever game in the state of Iowa. The Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Yankees (9-8), in a game played on the Field of Dreams, built next to the original film set. “Field of Dreams” is a 1989 film film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on the 1982 novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella. The film is set in an Iowa cornfield that had been made into baseball field, and includes Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, and Ray Liotta in starring roles. Many of the film’s quotes, and modifications thereof, were used in the construction of this poem.

Image: Photo by Charlie Neibergail, posted on ‘Field of Dreams’ Game: Yankees, White Sox set to play at Iowa movie site, and modified by Ron Rowland.

Special Thanks: A special thanks goes out to my dad, who bought me my first Wilson glove, some neatsfoot oil to soften the leather, and played catch with me in the front yard of The House Where I Grew Up.

Linked to Linda Kruschke’s Paint Chip Short Verse Part 2, where her paint chip prompt of corn maze took me back to last night’s ball game, and then the baseball muse took over.

Linked to dVerse Poets Club Open Link Night 298 – August live edition, where Björn is hosting.