Void and Compensation (No “I” in “Team”)

I’ve been told by dozens of angry men
that the name on the front of my jersey
is significantly more important
than the name sewn on my back.
Little compensations of detachment—
I’m an early draft pick, a team player.
I am a Brewer. A Dodger. A Red.
Fidelity investments: I have
aggressive funds and little gain.
She who walks with me has no name on her back:
free agent, are you betraying or betrayed?
Are you obsessed with leaving or left out?
Angel, Mariner, Oriole,
I want strikes for the heart of the order,
a game face so I might suffer preferences.
Sun breaks through clouds—Giant consequences.
Whom shall I call; how shall I pitch to them?

Michael Morse
“Void and Compensation (No ‘I’ in ‘Team’)” first appeared in The Lumberyard.