Knucklebones
A game begun in boredom
by some nomadic herdsman,
tossing and catching small bones, under
rules progressively more difficult
to invigorate his state.
We called it dabs, played squatting
on summer kerbstones, waiting turns.
The shapes were mass produced;
one sphere, four cubes with ridged sides
vestigially skeletal.
Sometimes we’d use two sets
testing deftness furthest.
I liked playing best with girls,
attracted by their unaggressive ease
and the adept rhythm of their hands.
Between our mothers’ screams to come and eat,
at dinnertime and tea,
I spun out games with Evie -
giving and taking naturally
as permanent partners.
She wasn’t pretty, but prefigured
her own womanhood enough
to trouble my eleven years with dreams
that wouldn’t survive life seen later
as knucklebones in lonely play.
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