Solitaire

Spooning oatmeal, berries, currants,
eyelids sticky,
limbs stiff,
I reach for the ipad for my breakfast game of
Solitaire,
mindless but not quite,
perfect for a cobwebby morning.

Solitaire
clears the brain like
my glass of berry juice does the palate,
gets the neurons synapsing
ready for the demands of the day.

I slurp the cereal and
touch the deck.
Black queen on red king
red eight on black nine
touch the deck again
again
back to the beginning
nothing
again
nothing
again
nothing
going nowhere.

Wait . . .

Was that a spade five?
Didn't I have a heart six?
Undo.
Undo again.
Sure enough!
Spade five on heart six!
BREAKTHROUGH!

The world opens up.
Kings appear out of the background
Cards align
Until--
SUCCESS
Autocomplete?

No, don't need that rush.

And, I think of teaching,
pulling teeth
increment by baby step,
almost missing the trump card.
Was that a heart five?
Undo a few moves, then
Breakthrough!
One move,
Then another, another,
another,
rapidly.

In the excitement of success
will Autocomplete follow?
That rush is vital.

To think. almost missed
the game-changing card.