Inspired By Bernard Malamud's The Natural Ii Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Inspired by Bernard Malamud's The Natural II
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
I actually progressed past another 20 pages in the aforementioned book
And I read that the hero (pitcher turned hitter and past his prime) , Roy, murders the team's
Star pitcher with a wooden baseball bat which is self-made
And this set me on the track of which bat is better, wooden or metallic,
In engineering terms and all I have to do is to consider Newton's law of momentum, boundary layer theory,
Viscosity of air AND comparative densities of wood and metal
And voila! I might make a packet off of the Toronto Blue Jays;

Do recall that it is all about wooden cricket bats and wooden hockey sticks
But I have to see some actual figures in calculations
And I came across certain practices or good luck charms of the fictional players
To bring luck their way during a game
And a character, Bump, "worked his red thread across the yellowed foot of a sanitary sock"
And "went through this ritual with the coloured thread in his socks and shorts";

Bump could be unconsciously wishing the colours of the winning game on his team
Or he could be wishing to enjoy the game
And I am fascinated that Malamud used threads to make his point
As I did in two poems both of which had a political point that I made;

The Canadian flag is woven cotton from the loom and the maple leaf is dyed red
The difference between woven thread and stitched thread is that one has to use a weaving loom or a needle
Or a pair of needles if it is a knitted sock
And woven cloth has a homogenous look and feel
And that is why Canada has come together to face this COVID-19 virus pandemic;
Its four sides are stitched and PM Justin Trudeau and his government
Have done very well in taking emergency measures
To cope with the backlash of the lockdown period
And other emergency situations;

Justin Trudeau recently banned about 1500 types of guns and rifles
Weapons which can kill effectively and quickly, a wonderful policy of his,
And here, I must make mention of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia
Where the killer also set fire to the houses and my heart goes out to the victims;

These sort of incidents strike terror deep inside our hearts
And I had a nightmare that our neighbourhood was the centre of a mass shooting
And we were all paralysed, helpless victims in face of this massacre
And I must say that a gun in one of our hands would have been a blessing
And thankfully, I woke up with this thought with my heart palpitating;

I know PM Trudeau is in favour of a gun registry where there is a background check
Made on all the buyers of the guns and rifles
And their medical history scrutinised
For often, the people who go on a shooting rampage are mentally deranged
And although their crime is inexcusable,
The authorities must take into account the fact that they were not in the best of minds;

I know that guns and other weapons have taken the rap for all the atrocities of humankind
And there have been incidents and in recent times, in Saskatechewan, where a white man shot an indigenous man for having driven into his property and the man was only asking directions
And the white man was acquitted of the crime of manslaughter
And I am recollecting another incident in Texas in the USA, where on Halloween,
A young Japanese man was shot dead by a whacko white man for coming trick or treating;
Coming back to the book which started this debate,
I shall reveal some of the plot for the hero, a gifted pitcher,
Has a romantic encounter with a lady with "heartbreaking legs"
And she, after lulling him into reducing his guard, lures him into a hotel room
And shoots him in the stomach;

Roy does carve out a new life for himself
But the point I am trying to make is that guns should not be sold indiscriminately
I know that a gun license is old hat but it is essential that background checks
Of misdemeanours and medical history be done on the buyers;

If threading the course of history
Into the fabric of our nation
Is the PM's task and the people's prerogative
Wearing the fabric is all our patriotic calling.