Karaoke for the Die-Hard Fan, Zina Gomez-Liss (September 2026)

Karaoke for the Die-Hard Fan

My mom was never one to keep in tune
but she still sang the song that we all knew
from Red Sox games. My dad, who died a week
before, had watched until the bitter end,
complained of crappy calls and Yankees fans,
Terry Francona’s coaching—thought that he
knew better since he was so close to death
and thus had God’s omniscient baseball knowledge.
 
Holding the mic, my mother stood alone
beside a TV screen at our friend’s house
where mourners gathered after the funeral.
My weary mother wailed and we all howled
and pitched past pitch our voices rose together.
The lyrics stole across the screen as we
were led into the fade by love, by grief,
by her: The good times never seemed so good…