(PROSE POETRY)

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

​TRENTON MABEY

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​I remember the moment the wallpaper started unraveling. It was a Tuesday, a spring rain washed through town inviting early blossoms to emerge. We were watching reruns when a snowflake floated down and settled on my knee. A crack formed on the top left corner of the window casing, opening a canyon in the wallpaper. An occurrence quickly dismissed. Three weeks later, a post-it note sailed down, landing on the mocha carpet. A pale green pattern peered from underneath, surveying changes to the room wrought by time. Perhaps, I asked the wrong questions, more curious of the hidden mystery than the cause. It became a game whenever I entered the room to see how large a piece would slip away when teased. Sometimes the pale green also flaked off revealing yellow patches, another hidden treat. I sit alone now, wondering at the state of the room, strips hanging, the floor sprinkled. She never liked the game.

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​Trenton Mabey is a freelance writer, poet, and photographer living in Arizona. His writing is influenced by mythology, philosophy, and the natural world. His work has been published by Mocha Memoirs Press, the Sandy River Review, and Subprimal Poetry Art.

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