“If”

(Wireless Apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

If John McGraw can hold his health and cunning,
  If Matty's whip retains its fibre fine,
If Raymond doesn't keep the lager running
  From Harlem to Tom Sharkey's down the line;
If Ames can shake the hoodoo that has gripped him
  And bend them over as our Leon can,
If Larry Doyle will fire the boots that tripped him,
  And field to suit the most exacting fan;

If Harold Chase can keep his boys together,
  The veterans and the youngsters side by side,
If Vaughn and Ford and Quinn can safely weather
  The season's storms and keep a winning stride;
If Chase remains the friskiest of friskers
  Around the bag he plays so wondrous well;
If Edward Everett Bell will trim his whiskers,
  New York may win two pennants—who can tell?

Published in Right off the Bat: Baseball Ballads

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