Henry Aaron can round the bases for his 715th home run now, 

More times than any other ballplayer in the history of the sport;

A national game that goes back nearly a century,

Back when Henry Aaron would not have been welcomed 

Into the public parks or sandlots of Atlanta, GA 

Without surrendering his rights and dignity.

In the celebration and relief of his breaking baseball’s 

Most cherished record, in a blink out of the evidence of history,

Cameras push in to see two, young white men

Chase after Henry Aaron as he rounds second base, 

And it all comes back to the elders of the race who have seen it before:

The black man chased by a white mob or outfit,

Seeing to it that the chase ends with him strung by a tree branch,

Or an unarmed black man ambushed by the policeman, 

Or a neighbor, or a passing citizen who just wanted to make things

Even more difficult for black people.

The elders have seen all kinds of manner 

Of white men chasing after black ones, and in a flash of horror, 

They fear they will now see another type of black death

Before seeing a black home-run king.

But the white teens running onto the field simply pat 

Aaron on the back for breaking Babe Ruth’s record, 

And scamper off from the picture and into the night 

Just as fast as they made it onto the infield. 

Aaron reaches home plate to cement his climb 

Atop baseball’s home run record, and takes in the rare standing ovation 

That a black man receives in the Deep South, 

Well aware after his offseason of torment, and now this, 

Progress in America takes its time, like a leisurely home-run trot, 

And the only thing to do is to keep working at it, like honing a good swing.