Fate Falls Fast

Jake Tringali

the jack sat with the king

on the chilliest autumn night

whiling away with card games and rumors

the queen sat with the grey cat

on a fluffy bed

a dreary rain fell in the field, outside the window

fire breathed warmth from the hearth

within these stone walls

reality held fast

the jack accused the king

of palming cards, cheating the deck

the queen, shivered, imagined other colored futures

the cat licked its paw

reality held

a gust blew through the window

playing cards unwillingly flew their route

scattering fast onto the floor

they traveled forward through time

unaware, following that preordained path

as we do, as you do

the cat randomly mewed

and, so, reality sputtered, and spun

for a flurry of activity occurred

all at once

unbound by the steady step of time

the card reassembled and restacked

the fire played games with the autumn

the kingqueen reversed its bed skin,

rumored under the fluffy rain

hearth breath stone death

next to the fire

reality withered and flickered

reality whined and harrumphed

reality quieted

the cat yawned

loudly, the cat proclaimed the new universe alive