i seldom play games
it seems as if i usually lose
it has been so since i can recall
from a simple board game
to checkers and chess
a rainbow of playing cards
spelling out my fate
and yet i have great luck
the place and time i was born
the people who bore and nurtured me
the money that bestowed upon me chance
the skin that bestowed upon me privilege
reaching back across generations to now
this is the game i came from
given second chances and thirds
the fire in my belly always stoked
the fire in my mind always fed
the warming shelter the cooling breeze
links to a world beyond dream in my grasp
chances taken and chances squandered
all of these reside inside me as choices
ignorance avoided me
prejudice a faint echo
most of what went wrong was self-made
every step a step forward and upward
from class to class to place to place
living in a way unimagined before
a luxury of place time and comfort
still i seldom play games
the tosses of dice seem to roll against me
the cards fall in meaningless clusters
the flip of the coin turns away
for me to bemoan that which chance gave
for me to worry of what chance takes away
to curse the turn of fate
jeg.
12/18
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