Friends Bored Him

Three couples got together

One time at a single friend’s

Apartment for a game night.

It was the 1990s.

They’d all been educated.

None of them had any kids.

They were all white and roughly

The same age, and they all worked

At the same place. In that sense,

They were friends, as is often

The case in situations

With coworkers—more or less.

Two couples cohabited.

The third pair were newlyweds.

The single friend had been so

For a few years. And what game

Did they play at his table?

For sure, it was a board game,

Something fairly popular

At the time. It might have been

Trivial Pursuit. They drank

Beer and wine, moderately.

The host put on a playlist

He’d carefully selected

To be appealing and show

Off his taste, his cleverness,

And his new CD platter,

But he felt insulted when

The newlywed husband asked

Who was singing, while adding,

They all sound the same. As if

Those seven people gathered

Around that little table,

All middle Americans

Of the same generation

With identical accents,

Didn’t sound egregiously

The same. Outside it was dark,

But everyone got home safe.