The Poetry of Ron Miller

(#1)

Ron Miller was a staple around Clinton (Mississippi) High School baseball for years. The fountain of wisdom. The tree of knowledge. He was a great friend and mentor to all the coaches and players at CHS, past and present.

And, he’s a poet.

“A great poet is greater than any king.” (Robert E. Howard)

Here’s a sampling of one of the masterpieces of King Ron:

“There once was a man from Nantucket…..”

Better not do that one.

Here’s one I can print:

It’s about my son Josh and his nasty split-finger fastball that helped the Arrows make a run through the 2008 Mississippi High School State Playoffs.

“There once was a pitcher name Clarke,

who kept opposing hitters in the dark.

It was useless to “swang” when he whipped out that “thang”

‘cause it’s bite was much worse than its bark.

Ron Miller, Poet, 2008

Genius poetry. It’s amazing how Clarke and dark rhymed. The hitters were not usually in the dark, because they knew what was coming and still couldn’t hit it. Swang and thang was a great analogy of hitter versus pitcher. Breaking pitches of all kinds were described by the term bite; late, sharp movement or sinking action.

And that “thang’s” bite really WAS much worse than it’s bark!

That steely look in his eyes, the confident smirk on his lips, the eye black war paint, the flat billed cap, the high leg kick, the “intestical fortitude” and a fastball, spike slider and split finger all coming from the same arm slot.

---