playing games

certain games
attached to certain
memories, certain
people - like cards
always my grandpa,
opa, and family, and
other games, other
times, other people,
other faces and in
some cases, there
are chases (up and
down ladders) and
the letter tiles scatter
throughout the house
as if in a storm and the
letters pop up at random
and the black/white finality
of othello. and trash talking
in that sporty way. scrabble
memories as diverse as the
tiles in the velvet bag - the
sound it makes awakes
memories - again and
still as if falling as small
slips of paper from the
vaulted ceiling of my
mind and the games
people played with me -
they overwhelm me,
but i sweep them
up into a pile and
file them away and
file shuffle step down
the aisles of slips of
paper in my mind
in a box labeled
games and
people they
play...