Fascination with the boxes
known as arcade games
kept the child enthralled for hours
in truck stops here to there.
Stopping in for fuel and food
she knew just where to go;
back amongst the men and women
who plied America's roads.
The magic of Space Invaders,
the sound of pinging ghosts,
kept Pacman quite alive, for us,
as the quarters quickly dropped.
She did not know the names of games,
she only knew the sight,
and yet she knew just how they worked
the magic word required.
Shining face turned up to Dad,
a smile in anticipation;
all she needed say to him:
"Guckins, Daddy, guckins."
©2009 rous
7-21-2009
A contest entry
- Buttons by individuality.
463 points, ended July 23, 11 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
A critical comment is invited
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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Excellent
What a terrific write for the contest. So very creative. Congrats on the bronze.
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Thank you. The things that kids are drawn to.
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Enchanting; a good read
I would like to know why the girl says "Guckins, guckins," to her father. Does this expression have a meaning new to me (as I've never heard it)? Thanks. I would have given three smileys with raised arms but find them costing me some unfamiliar points.
I'm new here. I found this poem first on the site when I did a search for Arcane Arcade as a possible website name to use for a business for myself, finding it's been taken. Though I've gotten past its habit with me, I will plan to share some poetry in the future.
I used to play Asteroids prior to computer popularization and, after that, Tetris, where you straighten out puzzle-like pieces as they come relentlessly down to fit into the semblance of a brick wall you might be building. Another I played was card solitaire.
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Thank you for taking the time to comment. My daughter used to go with her father quite a bit when young. He was driving a truck then and took her to truck stops. To pass the time, he let her play video games. At two, buttons is a fairly hard word to say, so it came out "guckens". It is just one of those words that stick around after childhood.
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Ahhh, through the eyes of a child...good luck
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ah the space invaders, i have not played that for a heck of a long time, we, me and my friends of the time, used to open the machine and click it to a 100 credits a good poem.
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Thank you. This is something that will be with us until our generation is gone. Too bad.
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Wow, that brought back some memories. I think I like the effect of the poem better than the poem itself. That is not to say that I do not like the poem, though. The way it kept my focus on the child while painting a scene that I remember from way back when before everyone gamed on computers was a nice touch.
It was a warm and wonderful reflection. Glad I clicked.
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Glad you did, also.
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