Take the Pope Off the Front Page, Yogi Berra Has Died
First report from Associated Press “Yogi Bear Died.”
Hanna Barbara never admitted Yogi Bear was from Yogi Berra.
Berra was only 5 foot 7 inches tall
couldn’t be the same as the 6 foot tall cartoon bear
Like my Dad , Yogi Berra was at D-day.
He volunteered to be on “a rocket boat.”
This was some time after Buck Rodgers flew a rocket
but the rockets in this case were shot from a small boat
that had to get close to shore to reach the Germans.
Got shot in his hand and earned his purple heart
To go with his baseball trophies, ten world championships, three M.V.P’s
was one spectacular angry gesture
staying away from The Yankees for fourteen years
after being fired by George Steinbrenner as manager after 15 games
when he was told he had the job for the entire season
Yogi said he was especially miffed that
George didn’t fire him face to face
They say when George apologized the feud came to an end
I think Yogi just decided it had gone on long enough.
Everybody is saying Yogi Berra is an American Icon
for his sayings as much as his playing
He made it all the way to age 90
without looking foolish
no small accomplishment considering
he had big ears and a toothy grin
Even though he didn’t say everything
They said he said.
He did say “No one goes there anymore”
It’s too crowded”
Good to know to stay away
if you are like me and want to avoid crowds
and popularity
Poet Alan Casline is the editor of Normanskill, a watershed anthology from the Normanskill watershed in New York State and is the editor of Rootdrinker, a long standing magazine of watershed poetics, art and nonfiction. As Director of Rootdrinker Institute, his efforts include running open mics and special gatherings for poets, producing the RD Newsletter and using Benevolent Bird Press to publish the work of fellow writers and artists. He is co-founder and on-going chronicler of The Cloudburst Council, an annual poetics gathering held in the Finger Lakes watershed. He lives with his wife, Jennifer Pearce, in a suburban neighborhood outside of Albany, New York.