Dreams--slightly out of reach

Keep thinking of a well played game
worn out
tired from running
    and following rules
putting yourself on the line


The innominate "they" said things would be better
once we played the game
and won.
Ice cream or something.

Now there are scraps
and scrapes from learning it would have been better
watching from the sidelines.

I didn't even get a trophy.


All metaphors for life and games
and making it into someone else's entertainment
aside

Being a master means
to hope to one day
soon
be a manager
of a shift
at a store
in Kentucky
making food
for people who sat out
formed callouses instead of learning sentence structure

Maybe they were the smart ones

I was just duped

My friends were too. Embittered at 23. 

That's the new life.