Board Games and Boys (Poems)

I play COD with boys who trash-talk both their friends and their mothers

I play Monopoly with boys who like to steal from the bank and treat me like property

I play Tic-Tac-Toe with boys who like to lie and manipulate 

I play Minecraft with boys who build me up and others who tear me down

I play Jenga with boys and hope I don’t fall apart when they pull out my foundations

I play Hopscotch with boys who like to jump from feelings to nothing in one step

I play Ticket to Ride with boys who like to pick and choose what they like (CAN I GET WOOD?) 

I play Duck Duck Goose with boys who never pick me

I play Fortnite with boys who drink shield potions and never let me in

I play Kickball with boys and hope they don’t kick me when I am down for second base

I play Leapfrog with boys who push me down when they are trying to get ahead

I play Truth or Dare with boys and beg them to pick the truth

I play Super Mario Bros with boys who totally do mushrooms

I play Madlibs with boys and hope I say the right thing so I don’t piss them off

I play Rock-Paper-Scissors with boys and hope I come out on top

I play Clue with boys and instead of figuring out who done it, I try and figure out who they did

My whole love journey with men taught me that games aren’t easy on the heart

This journey is nothing like Candyland or Chutes and Ladders 

It is not full of gumdrop stepping stones or lollipop trees

There is no Grandma Nutt to give me a hug at the end

Instead, there are Gloppy’s and Lord Licorices that have sticky hands 

In this game, I die

I play board games with boys and hope my board isn’t ripped 

I hope my cards don’t mix with other games

I hope my head isn’t rolling alongside the dice 

I hope my heart isn’t lost among the pieces