Soon night will be coming
The lights will be humming
Las Vegas opens her eyes
The rich and their sifters
The dreamers and drifters
Will converge for the prize
Each night another born
Drawing cards till the morn
Nothing else will suffice
On a starry-eyed mission
Their misguided ambition
By the roll of the dice
Still, there's winners and losers
Tea-toters and boozers
For most it's a shame
All the pain that's inflicted
But to those so addicted
Never learn from the game
she plays scenarios in her head
till she can’t distinguish
shades from fact or fiction
it started out all innocent
at first she didn’t sense the danger
she let her thoughts play drift
and skip ahead of herself
like an untended garden
the weeds soon taking over
she spirals down a private rabbit hole and
plays such games not meant for children
the type with hidden consequences
like mental variations of russian roulette
she’s gone offtrack
caught in a cycle
she’s really lost her way
it’s gone too far
i see her deteriorating
and i can’t save her
it breaks my heart to see her fear and mental anguish
that's sadly now her cross to bear
AP: 3rd place 2025, Honorable Mention 2025
Each numbered square gives a clue
For a puzzle with words across and down
Find the words that fit within
Select the wrong word
And things will go awry
Get all right and its a win!
Two warriors enter the court
Where a battle soon begins
Their rackets smash the ball with force
As they try to win their sets
Win enough sets and the war is won
10-15-2020
Games - Mental Or Physical Poetry Contest
William Kekaula
Games People Play
The games they play are so real to them
It's a shame dreams fade & go suddenly dim
No matter how long they try to pretend
Sooner or later it comes to an end
It doesn't seem to matter of ones religion or race
It's the same the world over, so hard to face
They just go on thinking there's more to be found
How do we make our youth aware of the truth
My wife doesn't love me, my husband is mean
They still believe the other side is green
Remembering parents unhappy & bored
There must be an answer if we search our minds
Maybe God figured it out and made it this way
So the greatest love he gave to us all
Is love for all mankind that never would stray.