forgot the point
that games are preparation
for the real thing.

“Let The Games begin!”

but that all started
a decade ago, or more,
on a Saturday afternoon
at the park—

and Billy was better than Jennifer,
and Jeffry better than Billy,
and Amber gave her life to it
from that moment on.

but was Amber better at life?
what would she have told her younger self
after the shoulder replacements
and the decades of fear?

“You will meet the love of your life
in a Costco parking lot
cleaning up the mess of your chicken and chips
not because you had to

but because someone taught you
that who you are is easiest seen

when the only audiences are unseen.”

“I’d do it all again!” she said.
and she meant it.