Two spokes, four tiny nubs
inside a larger globe,
Annie versus Jack,
Jack versus Annie:
The trick was how to capture
the universe by bouncing
one ball at a time
and win a nickel
Annie, faster, more clever,
tricked Jack every time
into believing
he could win the game
And every time she swept up
the stars she had thrown
she went home
with another nickel
Jack’s lifelong puzzle was not
how to beat Annie at jacks
but how Annie tricked him
into playing Fifty-Two Card Pickup