Game Over

This strategy you have mastered,
It suits you well.
But at the end of the day
What do you see when you close your eyes?
And does genuine pride fill your heart?
Can you have an end to something that had no real beginning,
Something that was conceived and nourished as a lie?
You are no better than a thief
Who takes what isn't yours,
Violating the trust you demand of them,
These golden boys you treat like puppets
Until they figure it out and play you at your own game.
But by then, it's too late,
Their questions will keep, as the truth fades with yesterday.
They are the real winners, and they will hold themselves up
Standing together alone and with private pride
And the memories they will save will be the heritage they
Mapped with honor and humility you never taught them
For being blind to your false ego, cold heart, and own deceit.
It suits you well,
This strategy you have mastered.
Game over.

11.11.15
©Kerri L. Stanley

Pretentious

This presence you choose to display
Only hardens our loyalty instead
Hurt by the words left unsaid
As if the past was all just a mistake
No matter how the game did play
Your actions are not misread
The tears that surely are shed
Because you simply will walk away
If the meaning of success for your team
Discounts the players you left behind
Where sportsmanship has lost its value
For raising yourself does deem
A coward who is simply so blind
To what you are and what you should do

07.24.11