He authored 23 poetry books, including Night Landings (Harper & Row, 1989), and Counting Survivors (Pittsburgh, 1995). According to his obituary, “Giving church talks on God's grace and love was his favorite work.” He and his wife were long-time members of the Broadway Church of Christ, in Lubbock, Texas.
The Essential Walt McDonald (Texas Tech University Press), appeared a few months after his death. The following poem is from Faith Is a Radical Master (Abilene Christian University Press 2005).
Faith Is a Radical Master
God bats on the side of the scrubs.
With a clean-up hitter like that, who needs
to worry aboutstealing home, a double squeeze,
cleat-pounding triples? If nothing else works,
take a walk, lean into the wicked pitch
careening inside at ninety miles an hour.
At bat, just get on base and pray the next nerd
doesn’t pop up. When someone’s already on, the coach
never calls me Mr. October, seldom signals Hit away.
If Johnson with the wicked curve owns the strike zone
or the ump, I’ll bunt. No crack of the bat,
no wildly cheered Bambino everyone loves.
Lay it down the line like the weakest kid in school,
disciple of the sacrifice. Some hour my time will come,
late in the game, and I’m on third, wheezing from the run
from first after a wild pitch, and Crazy Elmore
waving like a windmill by the third-base line.
Hands on my knees, I’ll watch the pitcher
lick two fingers, wipe them on his fancy pin stripes
and try to stare me dead. I’ll be almost dead,
gasping, wondering how I’ll wobble home if someone bunts
or dribbles a slow roller and the coach yells
Go! But there, there in the box is God,
who doesn’t pound home plate like an earthquake
but slowly points the bat like the Babe toward center field,
and all my family in the clouds go wild, all friends
I’ve loved and lost, even the four-eyed scrubs
In the dugout slugging each other and laughing,
tossing their gloves like wild hosannas, and why not –
it’s bottom of the ninth, two outs, a run behind
and a hall-of-fame fast baller on the mound,
but I’m on third and leaning home, and look who’s up.
*This is the second Kingdom Poets post about Walt McDonald: first post.
Entry written by D.S. Martin. He is the author of six poetry collections including Angelicus (2021, Poiema/Cascade), plus three anthologies — available through Wipf & Stock. His new book The Role of the Moon, inspired by the Metaphysical Poets, is now available from Paraclete Press.
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