The Base Stealer Poem by Robert Francis
The Base Stealer
Poised between going on and back, pulled
Both ways taut like a tightrope-walker,
Fingertips pointing the opposites,
Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball
Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on,
Running a scattering of steps sidewise,
How he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases,
Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird,
He's only flirting, crowd him, crowd him,
Delicate, delicate, delicate, delicate—now!
This certainly puts into words we can all relate to. Good write.
I really don’t like prom because they aren’t like stories but this one. Was terrible
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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11/16/2026 12:40:31 AM # rel_20261026T125300Z_a7741e1
What a beautiful, evocative rendering of the plight of the baseball player leading off, tempting, teasing, caught in that exhilarating moment during a game that hangs in the air, hoping to steal a base and advance his team's hopes of victory. It rolls it all up and gets my heart beating, just like the real thing. Masterful.
what
Agreed good sir! I truly love this poem