Gary Carter: The Poem

In a long line awaiting a bank cashier,

I stood mulling my long-lost rhyming career,
When appeared a conversation starter,
Said a man, “Did you hear about Gary Carter?”

His eyes conveyed a disheartened dismay,

“It was cancer,” he said, “that took Gary away.”
I just chuckled, then bellowed, “I have no regrets!
“I have hated each one of those rat-sucking Mets.”

Now the guy looked so sad, I said, “Aww, sorry, man.
“Don’t listen to me; I’m a dumb Yankee fan.
“I never could root for the Mets, don’t you see?
“But I wish Gary Carter had once played for me.

“Yeah, I would have rooted for him up and down,

“If he only he played on the right side of town.
“Back in the eighties, we could have been great,
“Instead of a team that you wanted to hate.

“I wonder what Manager Lou could have done,

“With Carter and old Rickie Henderson,
“And Easler, and Winfield, and Mattingly, too,
“Put Carter in there, it’s a fan’s dream come true.  
“Hey! maybe that Drabek trade wouldn’t go through!

“With Carter, our line-up would add one more layer,
“How I would have loved him, if he were my player!
“I would have been proud if guarded our plate,
“And how would I so mourn the news of his fate.”

I stood there just thinking of what might have been,

All the plays he would make, all the games we would win,

All the hits he'd deliver, the runs he'd drive in...

All the times I would shout, "Carter did it again!"

Someday, I do pray all my hatreds will cease,

But for now, Gary Carter, dear God, rest in peace.