Gameboy Poem by Chris Wind

i saw my son the other day
playing with one of those gameboy things
i asked him where he got it
he said he bought it
with his birthday money and saved allowance
so i let him be
his dedication was admirable

though i was awful curious about the key at the side
silver and shiny like on a wind-up toy
gameboys usually don't have those, do they?
it's a new model, my daughter explained
you have to move up through levels
just like before
but the last level activates the key
and what does it do, i asked
dunno, she said, don't care

but my son did, it was clear
he was addicted
put it down for a while, will you?
he ignored me
how do you get from level to level?
he ignored me
by following the instructions, she said, bored,
correctly and quickly

well that's pretty lame, i said
son, listen to me for a minute-
he wouldn't listen
he kept right on playing
and in no time at all
he reached the last level
we could tell by the look on his face

and when the thing commanded
TURN KEY NOW
he did
and the thing said
CONGRATULATIONS-
YOU HAVE JUST DESTROYED THE PLANET.