SNAKES AND LADDERS

I roll the dice

And move like

An arthritic old man

Space by tortuous space.                                         

I roll one

And then one

And then one.

There are no other numbers.

With time,

I make progress.

But then, there is the serpent,

His tongue out,

Lascivious and filled with venom.

He wants to make top, bottom,

Up, down,

High, low.

He is a machine for defeat.

Inevitably

I step on his head

And down I go.

And so, I roll the dice,

And move like an arthritic old man,

Space by tortuous space.

In this game

There are snakes,

There are no ladders.