Incessant runs of solitaire I’ve played
for pleasure and unburdening my mind.
When I was young, I shuffled cards and made
a pattern on my table – I’d unwind
as colors intermeshed, and I would deal
the game repeatedly. Computers took
those jobs, but solitaire remained as real
for me as reading screen instead of book.

And maybe it’s just age and frequency,
but twice I’ve lost my bearings in a game.
I blanked on where I happened then to be,
what time it was: I sensed no shade or frame.
A moment passed and I resumed. But which
was that: a mini-stroke or flitting glitch?