With
his passing we salute him as
the best baseball catcher of all time
He set records that still stand today
the 16 world series; the 10 National Championships;
the 3 Most valuable player awards;
the 16 years a Yankee player
all of which made him an All-Star
and a Hall of Famer
Yet it was his witty sayings
that made him even more renowned
those odd malapropisms
and Zen-like phrases that
came out of his mouth as natural
as water flowing downhill
Those pronouncements
so convoluted and downright weird
yet which
on further review
had honest
truth embedded in them
and a certain folksy wisdom
Strange sayings that left the mind in disarray
like accidentally throwing a car in reverse
the mind slams on its brakes
locks up
then has to re-engage
How else do you explain:
"If you don't know where you're going, you might end up someplace
else" or ..."I really didn't say all the things I said"
or..."Nobody goes there anymore-it's too crowded"
or..."When you come to a fork in the road, take it"
How we will miss him and his engaging wit
that short, slow, big-eared catcher
who they said
would never make it in the Big Leagues
The one and only YOGI
who most famously declared
"It ain't over till it's over"
Now it's finally over
yet his sayings will live on forever
I think of his bit of lasting advice
which could be a fitting epitaph for this
most unique and accomplished man:
"Always go to other people's funerals,
otherwise, they wont go to yours."
© d.knape
September 23, 2015
More "Once Upon A Line" - Light verse
and poetry by d.knape
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