Marbles

Marbles

she was dumb
too dumb
for any games
more complex than marbles

i felt bad
for a grown woman
too dumb
for anything more complex
than marbles
i felt
so bad
i'd leave
little openings 
that allowed her to win
since a win
at marbles
was the least
i could give
a sad
sorrowful
pitiable woman
who couldn't
otherwise
even win
at marbles

i went on
for years and years
letting her win
until the day
in the middle of our game
i had to step away
and came back
to one of my marbles
missing

that's when i realized
she'd been cheating
at marbles
all along

i confronted
she denied
but her deception
was enough
to realize
she was never
so dumb
as she'd always
pretended
and fooled me
into 
believing

i didn't wanna believe
this lady
i'd shown pity
by allowing her to win
would also
cheat

it's when i realized
all that effort
of those years of deception
dedicated
to anything better
would have been
so goddamned much better
for both of us
than wasting our time
with marbles

i so quit
playing marbles
while she sobbed
"there'll be nothing left
between us"
since all she knew
was marbles
and her own way
of playing
the game