[shadowthorn]

New user here, hoping for some help.

Many years ago, I read a science fiction book that contained a poem entitled, "The Ballad of Baby Boo". I cannot recall the title or author of the book, but it was a fictional work of a noirish sort. I have reprinted what I recall below. If you can help me identify the book, I will be very grateful. Thanks!


The Ballad of Baby Boo

Papa was a catcher on the company team
Slowing down the rocks as they came down the beam
Some of ‘em were low ones
Some of ‘em were high
Thirty tons of ore in the blink of an eye

Mama was a sprayer in the company tanks
Kept from going crazy by the company tranks
Bees can’t stand the spinning
Bees can’t hardly stand
Mama trucks down aisles pollinating by hand

One day Papa slipped up as it came across the plate
Sixteen tons of ore like the black hand of fate
Burn you mother thruster
Thruster she won’t burn
Papa’s ship is spinning like a funeral urn

Mama got called in by the company …
…
Damn your stupid husband!
Don’t give us any lip
Can’t you see how much it costs to replace that ship?

(there is one more stanza which I cannot recall, in which Mama kills herself, I believe)

[shadowthorn]

Issue resolved! "Poppa Was a Catcher", published in 1987 by Steven Gould, printed in the anthology Cities in Space. I found a copy in a used bookstore this weekend and snapped it up.