Where we start is where we end,
And at the end, we start again.
We do this because it is fun
To make a game and have it won.
And see, that’s what all this stuff is:
The cat, the dog, the wife, the kids,
The house, the car, the book you wrote,
The pictures, the meals, that winter coat
You wore to your son’s baseball game
So you could watch his rise to fame.
You did it for your daughter, too
When, live onstage, she played the blues.
All these things, the art, the music,
They’re there for us to simply use it
And succeed at this game we made,
The one which forever we’ve played
Because of how much fun it’s been,
And also ’cause—hell—we love to win!
It’s how we roll. You know it’s true.
It’s how we live, me and you
And us all under the same roof,
Bound by ties that need no proof
Of existence. We know they’re there.
They’re why we love and why we care
About each other so much, so purely.
You understand why I’m saying this, surely?
Well, if you don’t, I’ll let you know
Why I’ve been speaking to you so
Oddly, in a fashion I don’t normally pick:
It’s my Fourth Anniversary! Come on, you pricks!
How could you forget the twenty-third,
In which I penned the very first words
That started our little game
Within the Great Game? What a shame
You should forget this day, the start
Of me talking to you through art,
And us building this powerful bond,
The kind that lasts forever strong.
But I know that you didn’t forget,
You only needed me to let
You know it’s okay to celebrate
This (obvious rhyme) momentous date
When you and I first became friends.
It’ll start here, end here, and start again,
Just as it’s always been with us.
We’ll make more games and build more trust,
And every year I’ll write a poem,
Which you’ll read on your screen at home.
And maybe you’ll write back to me,
And tell me how good it feels to be
Alive and powerful, all of those things
That this Great Game we’ve made eternally brings.
All right, I guess that’s where this story ends,
And, where it stops, another begins.
I’ve had fun, really, living these last four years with you.
Here’s to next quartet, goo goo g’joob.
~D.
P.S. – To trace the origin of the image at the top, this is the place to look. Good luck.
Dylan Alexander 