Now that we’ve hit midseason, I’m pleased to call to your attention to the baseball haiku, a truly winning literary form, especially designed for slackers. Anybody can be successful with this. The Japanese borrowed baseball from us and we snatched the haiku from them—they combine nicely. When I worked at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, I ran a baseball haiku contest. We’d get hundreds of entires each year, most of them worthy. I love that with a dozen or so words you can create a snapshot of a moment in the game, along with a memorable phrase or two, perhaps making use of baseball’s specialized lingo. If you don’t want to conform to the 5-7-5 syllable count, let it slide and just knock out a baseball riff in three lines. So, after you finish your Wordle, surprise yourself with how clever you are at writing baseball haikus. I wrote a few the other day to give you a taste. I can’t wait to see yours. I invite you to post your winners in the comments here.
One play, two errors, the svelte third-sacker on his knees, crying for mercy. A pitcher’s duel— three fat crows on the scoreboard, hoping for action. Down to their last out, the hapless shortstop strikes out, slider in the dirt.