Little League

Coaching Pitchers²

When my only pitcher¹（投手，大水罐） went wild
against the league's worst team,
I knew we had a cushion, hell, ten runs
at least. Time for a life-lesson. Like Zeus I towered
over him on the mound³ and poured the positive
into his anguished⁴（极度痛苦的） eyes. Said I wasn't taking him out
no matter what. And he walked the runs
in and in and in. Before the second inning（一局）
I should have known nothing would help him
but another sunrise.

                                   I was raised to believe will
could do anything, lift you out of any kind of slump⁵.
The short kid got shorter as the long day waned,
his eleven year old brow crawling with wrinkles（皱纹） .
I was Lear, now, had given my word,
and even my smart-ass centerfielder knew
not to come between the dragon and his wrath⁶（愤怒，激怒） .
Trapped in my sovereignty（主权，君主） ,

                                             I turned to stone
as the runs added up and we lost 29-27 and
the lesson sank in like a dull blade
just above my top vertebra（脊椎） , the one known
as the Atlas⁷.