The Shadows We Carry

The stadium inhales late autumn air.
Freddie stands rooted.
Hope lingers like a shadow near midnight.

Waiting stretches thin, like breath held too long.
Pitch echoes in empty corners, a whisper trailing, thin strands of dawn.

Ohtani waits in obscurity,
a specter of legends.
A heartbeat feigns thunder.

Night rattles quietly with tension.
Freeman shatters the silence.
The ball vanishes into time.

Heartbeats measure distance.
Victory whispers across the field.
Empty seats hold what eyes forget.

Resilience cloaked in cheers and buried tears.
Triumph is bitter, sweet, haunted by ghosts.

Another morning unfolds.
Under weary stars, rest finds them.

Tonight, scars still burn.
The struggle is not in vain.

--Vera