The thing about draw twos
Is it's always personal.
Each person stares
At the person to their right.
Wondering,
Did I offend them tonight?
My eyes say,
Don't come for me.
My mind says,
What's their strategy.
I notice the smile.
Trying so hard
To feign disinterest as they
Casually discard a card.
But I see it.
That card where they pause
Stroke chin, then skip.
Choosing not to serve sauce.
His wheels are turning.
If he serves it, it has to be right.
He doesn't want to regret it
At the end of the night.
Too soon,
He makes enemies.
Too late,
He sacrifices hegemony.
We all feel the power,
In his hands
Power to disrupt
Each of our plans.
I'm nearest to the blast zone.
I've been on a run
Had a train and a double
Getting me closer to one.
Across from me, a novice.
Who's had a stroke of luck.
Aim that missile at her.
And she will surely be
Stuck in a battle with
The person on my other side.
Knowing they stand to gain
From a potential draw-two-icide.
His turn again.
And now I know it's on.
By the way he preps
His throwing arm.
With number cards,
You throw them away.
They rarely hit the pile
Usually, stay in disarray.
But to throw a draw two,
You need to grab it from the top,
And pull it straight up
With a flourish and a pop.
You lean forward to get leverage
Some may even stand
Other arm moves to chest
To protect the rest of your hand.
Down comes the card
With prejudice so extreme
It smacks the table and the soul
Crushing all hopes and dreams
And then civility kicks in
You have home training after all
So you rearrange the pile
Neatly stacking cards tall.
This was my fate.
draw two, he says, finishing his turn.
Sliding me the deck with casual indifference
I knew that was meant to burn
But lo and behold
The rules say
There's a way to postpone
What you're indebted to pay.
First game my hand
Was so disappointing
But the second game around
I had a new anointing.
I look over to my left
Shift forward in my seat
And with a flourish
I serve the ultimate heat.
He made me draw two,
But before I do,
I choose to throw down
Two draw twos on you!
My last two cards
It's Uno and I'm out
And I've left the last three
Chasing my clout.
One person draws six
As one lets cards drop.
And one sits incredulous
That I came out on top.
That’s the game
If you know, you know.
There is no mercy
In Uno.
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