ZEL(ous) Noir by Louis Staeble


                                  Mercy Rule                                                           

                        Baby girls sold for as little as $8…

                        Chinese smugglers drug infants, then stuff them in bags.

                                                        …National Post Newspaper (Canada)…July 31, 2004

So, finally

this is it,

our season winds down

like a dying cobra.

We will play

remaining meaningless games,

like a sad-sack ball team,

limping through September.

Worn gloves;

tired bats;

(a promising season start)

then the dog days;

dashed hopes;

losses mounting;

no heart;

Classic Fall.

no intestinal fortitude;

going through the motions.

No Fall Classic…

just a

Classic Fall.