E.E. Cummings Prize Finalist, selected by Chard deNiord
Matthew Johnson, formerly of Stratford, CT, is author of Shadow Folks and Soul Songs (Kelsay Books), Far from New York State (NYQ Press), and Too Short to Box with God (Finishing Line Press). His poetry has appeared/forthcoming in The African American Review, Heavy Feather Review, London Magazine, and others. He has received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations, along with honors from the Hudson Valley Writers Center and Sundress Publications. A finalist for the 2023 Diverse Book Award, he serves as managing editor of The Portrait of New England and poetry editor for The Twin Bill. www.matthewjohnsonpoetry.com
I Dream the Dodgers Back to Brooklyn
I want the Dodgers back in Brooklyn.
Real Brooklyn, with pigeon-coop rooftops
And stickball kids who cuss in five languages while at lunch.
I want Jackie back, stealing home like it’s owed to him,
As if America is just a constant curveball,
And you've got no choice but to go for it.
I just want Jackie to be safe after a long day of running.
I want a hot dog in each hand,
And a halo of ketchup around my mouth.
I want Ebbets Field, not a memory,
But brick and echoes and peanuts cracked by hand,
And bleachers packed like rush-hour trains,
Filled with old ladies heckling like prophets.
I want to believe in losing again,
The kind a Yankees fan could never understand.
The kind where you have scraped a knee
And have often been told, no, over and over again.
I want to sit in the bleachers with my grandfather,
Whose heart was broken when the Dodgers left Brooklyn,
And see him fall in love all over again….