Lydia Cruz welcomes Mariners season with Opening Day poem

Mar 28, 2019, 10:04 AM | Updated: 12:07 pm

The Mariners host the Red Sox in their home opener at T-Mobile Park on Thursday. (AP)

(AP)

Seattle Sports

A new season arrives today, awakening universal elation
Announcing itself amid unapologetic anticipation

An armistice ends, acrimony resumes in the AL West
The Astros, Angels, A’s, Adrian’s ex-team and two-game front-runners in the Pacific Northwest

Back to barreled up blasts and bombs bound for batters eyes
Back to beers, bobble heads and backwards K’s… the knee-buckling kind

Calling to order the Crafty Lefty Arts & Crafty Club
Convening cutter creators and curve castors, careful constructors of change ups
Corner carvers, count composers, closing down three for every three up

Dig in dear friends, dreamy days of baseball are upon us
The dark, depressive, the dim and the doldrums dismissed by the divinity of dingers and no-doubters

Enter evenings at Edgar’s, and eating everything not nailed down
As number eleven, excellence epitomized, finally enters Cooperstown

From front gate to food lines to frivolity to first pitch
Fun on the field with Frenchy, Freight Train, Flash and Félix
Fierce are the floodgates of fandom and nostalgia so rich

The glory of Griffey and perpetual Grand Salami recitation
Glimmer and gleam and galvanize a new generation

The Hanigers and Healys and other hungry young hopefuls
Home run hitters, heater hammerers, habitual home plate crossers

Inspired, in part, by the one and only Ichiro
Icon, idol, innovator, now globally immortal
Ignited by the words of the similarly indelible,
“I don’t believe it… It just continues”

Just for a moment, let’s feel joy and utter jubilation
Jest and be jovial, not yet jaded
Let your heart jump for the occasion

Kickback with kinfolk, kiddos, kebabs or popped kernels
Keep your focus on Kaizen, avoid frustration infernal

Love the game, love the lads,
learn lineups, launch angles, locate live arms and leaders
Don’t languish on lackluster losses (there will be some)
Live for laser shows, laced long balls, luck, levity,
and let loose for “Louie, Louie”

Many a day the magenta mob will mobilize,
for future MVP Mitchell Evan Haniger
Mythical masher, run manufacturer,
opponent morale mincer and basher
Mailing money shots to the moon like a magnanimous benefactor

It’s nearly here now, the newness, the nonstop barrage of NEAT
The natural, nightly noise and narration of baseball,
to which we have a front row seat

Opening Day is an ode, an orchestral opus to baseball
Onward, onward to October we march
The old time religion lives,
staging yet another six month occupation of our hearts