Fifth Graders At Play Poem by Glen Martin Fitch

Fifth Graders At Play



They roll the dice.
The thimble, cannon, boot
creep round the board.
Three ten year olds at play.
'Let's NOT pay rent.'
“Let's go the OTHER way.'
'A motel FIRST.'
'Let's pass out ALL the loot.'
At eight they tried to grasp
this complex game.
By twelve they'll master it
and take their turn.
Right now, by every 'what if…'
they will learn when things go wrong,
just how and what's to blame.
But if you're twenty-one
there's no defense
to land on Marvin Gardens
and NOT pay,
Skip “Go to Jail, ”
claim bankrupt
and then play.
And where's the proper,
timely consequence?
At ten they play not BY
but WITH the rules.
At seventy, they're either
crooks or fools.

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