Ambition's Taw

Skipping worn Keds beneath laughter

yesterday's jettisoned leaves soon to become IED shrapnel

our ingrained images born of

eyes afire with anticipation

peering at the unknown

seeing where horizons fall endlessly

like sunlight chasing the night

Our fist full of marbles

security for the journey

seeking challenging games

in daddy's adult world

Playground lessons

mibs in the circle of growing up

colors changing

translucent some

opaque others

steelies the prize

all for the taking

aim your taw

Rules for the game

from sandlot

to asphalt alleys

to the potholes and trenches of battlefields

remain the same

save the cost of the game

Taws perfected early on

by classroom

schoolyard

graduation

and boot camp

Rolling the taw between life's fingers

Sharpening instincts for the game

Sometimes we rest

staring at ceilings

beneath shelters from fear

or gilded maxima of temporary joy

Yet

Our eyes

remain unfulfilled like dry beds of earth

awaiting the rain

gazing skyward for answers

the pockets of marbles

now replaced by dusty rocks

or

ammo clips

or

green hundreds

or for some

the bent fingers clinched about

their own casket handles

Beware the misguided fingers

poised ready about the stock

The trigger

The taw

Picking mibs