An ode to Match 3 video games

you’re in no way going to initially hesitate because you’re pulling to initiate 

the replacement of emeralds and rubies that sit on your pillar-like shelves

in an effort to become newly possessed with an inherent kind of luck 

and i genuinely believe you when you say you’re trying to clear storage space for us. 

but still, i’ll glitch watching our existence become unusually docile because you say you cannot lose her and you purchase diamonds every once a while

because she gives you power.

she controls your highest highs 

and your lowest lows 

and i’m giving you grace, because i’ve been there too.

but it’s nearly impossible for a person of my caliber to not 

want more

than to be hidden inside the dark holes of your sleeved sweatshirt

just merely tiptoeing around the barbed wire

in our never-ending game of operation

i don’t want us to be like the coins with no value now, but extreme value prior.

forced to toss one in to the flowing well as it becomes stripped of our love and desires

where even if we wanted to find a way out, the well closed because of your lasting devotions to emerald and ruby attire.

i know i intervened by speaking of our future, 

but i hope we continue to intertwine 

rewriting the past future graciously in time

and i hope you soon get a message giving you clarity and composure

with an update to the system

and “the older version of candy crush”--- you hate it when i call it that

is finally sectioned away

in the land of “game over”

About the Author

Ryland McGinniss is a sophomore History and English major with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. He loves to do advocacy work whenever he can, and honestly you'll probably see some of that reflected in his writing. When he's not busy with writing, he listens to music and one of his most prized possessions is his concert t-shirt collection.