by Glen Martin Fitch
We roll the dice.
The thimble, cannon, boot
creep round the board.
Three ten year olds at play.
"Let's NOT pay rent."
"Let's go the OTHER way."
"A motel FIRST."
"Let's pass out ALL the loot."
At eight they tried to grasp
this complex game.
By twelve they'll master it
and take their turn.
Right now, by every "what if…"
they will learn when things go wrong,
just how and what's to blame.
But if you're twenty-one
there's no defense
to land on Marvin Gardens
and NOT pay,
Skip Go to Jail,
claim bankrupt
and still play.
And where's the proper,
timely consequence?
At ten they play not BY
but WITH the rules.
At seventy, you're either
crooks or fools.
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ABOUT THE POET ~
Glen Fitch is a 16th Century poet lost in the 21st Century. Born near Niagara Falls, educated in the Catskills, thirty years on the Monterey Bay he now lives in Palm Springs. Retail not academics has paid the bills. Someday he will finish Spenser's "The Fairie Queene."
Last updated August 23, 2011