House of Cards*

Jan Kanty Maszkowski - The house of cards

"This is the house that Jack built . . . "

~ British nursery rhyme      

We played War, of course, slapping our cards down

and scooping up the higher card winnings.

We could have any number of players,

but mostly split one rummy deck in two

for never-ending one-on-one contests.

Monopoly seemed endless, too. Hours

would pass in bargaining, buying, selling

and hoarding dice until we made forced trades.

But the game that trumped all the others in

frustration and often led to punching

and tears was The Last Word, a game consisting of

echoing a sibling, repeating last words

ad nauseum, as horrid as tickling.

Stop, Stop!  was met by (Stop Stop!) in singsong,
and longer sentences (like this one), were
met by (like this one were met by)—

in mocking tones (in mocking tones)—

and then came laughter and finger pointing.

Heightened color and fast heartbeat were signs

of investment in hardened solo joy.

Creative play, they say, replaces these

games with more cooperative models—

like building a fragile house of cards that

makes us tiptoe toward less warlike joys.

For Sumana's prompt: 

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ War and Peace

*"House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structure or argument built on a shaky foundation or one that will collapse if a necessary (but possibly overlooked or unappreciated) element is removed. " 

My blog poems are rough drafts.   

Please respect my copyright. 

© 2017 Susan L. Chast