August 2021
Sterling Warner
jsterlingwarner@gmail.com
jsterlingwarner@gmail.com
Bio Note: A Washington based author, poet, and educator, my poems and stories have appeared in many international literary magazines, journals and anthologies such as Sparks of Calliope: A journal of Poetic Observation, Uppagus, and The Fib Review. My most recent poetry/fiction collections include Rags & Feathers, Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories, and Serpent’s Tooth: Poems. Currently, I enjoy writing, turning wood, participating in “virtual” poetry readings, and fishing along the Hood Canal.
Arcades
We worked our way past blinking booths,
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s arcade,
strived to earn paper tickets—
tokens to trade for stuffed animals
stale candy, & plastic figurines…
items we’d win to impress our dates.
Tossing baseballs at lead-filled dolls,
squirting, water in tubes—ping-pong ball rising
throwing darts that glanced off balloons,
spending freely, we never backed down,
so certain our aptitude to beat rigged games
assured we’d walk away armful victorious.
Clacks & dings preceded flashing lights
mall arcades, yesteryear’s relics,
housed pinball machines—challenges
where nimble hands, supple wrists
manipulated flippers, bumpers, ramps
encouraged young gamers to best high scores.
No longer competition’s epicenter,
penny arcades morphed into gaming casinos
where skee-ball, air hockey, & commercial Nintendos
inspire self-indulgence, over masterful play
now champions accept parking validation
from redemption centers in lieu of trinkets &toys.
©2021 Sterling Warner
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