Before Kickball

by Jason Melvin

Home plate     the man hole cover
Pitcher’s mound    that line of orange spray paint

First base    the corner of the beige garage
Second base    the garbage can lid

Third base    the middle door on the Vukich’s garage
not that one     the middle one

ball caught in the air     and you’re out
hit with ball     and you’re out

unless it’s a head shot
then you take your base

unless you’re a cocky douchebag
then no one cares about your face

and don’t be a dickweed
bouncing pitches don’t count

Who’s captains?

Jason Melvin received a gimmicky T-shirt from his teenage daughter on Christmas with a picture of one large fist fist-bumping a much smaller fist. The caption read, “Behind every smart-ass daughter is a truly asshole Dad.” It fit. His work has recently appeared in A Thin Slice of Anxiety, Roi Faineant, Outcast, Bullshit Lit, Olney, Punk Noir and others. His poems were nominated for Pushcarts by Bullshit Lit and Outcast. His first chapbook, Wrong Things, will be published by Bullshit Lit in late 2022. He can be found on Twitter @Jason5Melvin, Instagram @JasonMelvin5 and on his website at www.jasonmelvinwords.weebly.com.