grandpa came to visit
don’t think i was even six yet
he said
why aren’t you outside
with the brand new mitt i sent you
i said
grandpa i’m so grateful
that you send anything at all
but that glove hardly holds a ball
and he laughed his ass off

he said
how could i forget
you can’t just send a kid a mitt
without a good old heart-to-heart
about just how to break it in
you can’t rush a glove to greatness
that’s why I’m starting you right now
go get it i’ll show you how
my grand-dad showed me how

you pound on the pocket with your fist
tap a mallet on the webbing
rub in a little lanolin
tie it up tight under your mattress
and you’ll feel it breaking in
once you’re out
for crying out loud
playing catch with it

those summers that he came
felt like more than just a game
we’d spend all those hours outside
shagging flies and reacquainting
i’d say
grandpa i’m so grateful
that we found all this time to talk
but cmon man could you throw the ball
and he’d laugh his ass off

i grew out of that glove
but i kept it safe and sound
now my own kid’s growing up
so i found it and pulled it out
turns out she’s a lefty
i hear grandpa laughing now
as we break in her brand new mitt
same way my grandpa did

pound on the pocket with your fist
tap a mallet on the webbing
rub in a little lanolin
tie it up tight under your mattress
but its no use breaking in
unless we’re out
for crying out loud
playing catch with it