My Favourite Number

My Favourite Number

I'm not sure if everyone
Has a favourite number
But I do
It's 51
I love it because
It's even
In its oddness
And that feels comfortable
A number that fits
With four factors
1 and itself
3 and 17
All odd numbers
But an even amount
And I'm the type
That likes things to be
Even Steven
I'm all 50/50
Except in this instance I'm 50+1
And that gives me the majority
Unlike 49
Which is 7x7
And sometimes that's lucky
But then again sometimes it's not
51 was the number
On the back of your baseball jersey
The number I would see
Every time you caught a pop fly
Waiting for it to fall
Then turning around
At the last moment
And catching it behind your back
There was such a flippant ease
And a daring disregard
But you never dropped the ball
I asked you once
What your favourite number was
And you said 51
Because that was the year
That you became you
And from that moment
It was my favourite too

Words: ©04/04/2020LCR
Image: CCO
Form: Tribute Poetry (For my dad)