Kind of exciting news!  Poem 35 out of 36 for The Twilight Zone, Year 1 is done.  I realize that does not mean much in a world filled with a whole lot of creative people.  But, it seems to mean something to my eldest princess.  And that?  That means all the world to me!!

The Mighty Casey
by Michael Romani

Time takes another of those out of the park swings
At this sterling, Serling Twilight Zone thing
The ghost of the Hoboken Zephyr's memories
Stands like its stadium alone without trees
The wind stirs along the top of the tall grass
As a reminder of the roaring crowds long ago past

Once this stadium was alive, filled and proud
Now it is a mausoleum of the losers disavowed
Once upon a time, it was another try out day
A left handed pitched named Casey had come to play
But, there in the dugout, discouragement abounds
Management bickers over the players they had found

Grumbling comes with quick casting of blame
Nobody wants to admit losing is their best game
It's painful to admit to a winning streak of one game
And it would be nice if they pulled it off just the same
Casted aspersions pretty much say it all
With upper management unwilling to play ball

At the new try out, the coach calls for a final check
The catcher finds that try out pitcher is on deck
A drink at the fountain and the manager turns around
He's a little confused at the newbie he has just found
With smoking hot pitch, Casey's ball crosses the plate
Turns out he's a robot; not the average sort of playmate

A precision pitcher of a very different kind
The manager watches as it blows his mind
Casey is the new hero for this bullpen's hour
Fast or slow, Casey's pitch has the power
Taken down to the shower to talk and change
The coach sees the advantage, not matter how strange

Things are looking up for the Zephyr's wind
Thanks to the throwing arm of their new friend
The world he's in is suddenly seen differently
He's a scientific interest held reverently
As a God given gift drawn from a dreamer's imagination
And fine honed through the best test of competition

The experiment was for Casey to take the team from behind
The Zephyr's were the worse team he could possibly find
Headlines read above the fold out in a constant shout out
Until the winning streak had left no one in doubt
As to the cause and effect - until Casey ends up beaned
And that twist made it all seem as if it had been dreamed

The team doctor finds an odd absence of heartbeat
This would surely cast the robot player onto the street
As it was a clear violation of code that had been found
It would take some kind of heart to keep him around
But, it was agreed that with a heart he would be a man
Seemingly the best sort to your average sports fan

The lust for winning could not be taken any further
All of the other teams would scream bloody murder
Going for the first pennant in twenty three years
The Zephyrs wanted to be done with their tears
With Casey under the blade, there is a ghost in the dugout
The coach invokes this for confidence and remove all doubt

As sudden as that, the ghost walks in with a heart
Ticking away as it should have from the start
The problem is he arrives looking for togetherness
His beating heart is given toward tenderness
He no longer desires to pitch for the win
Instead, his compassion is as man's might have been

He has no drive to crush anyone's career or ego
He's become a bucket of love but a competitive no-go
With a new set of plans the coach stirs up some late bloomers
On the other coast who blast past the doom and gloomers
It seems this is how baseball is played in the Twilight Zone
It's a game for champions peculiarly their very own

(c) September 23, 2017  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved