Fifth Encore

Dear Tetris,

From the moment I started blowing into my Nintendo cartridges
And shooting Ducks, using fireballs on Giant Koopas and Grand Goombas
In the basement of 11 Golf View Dr and on the 12 inch TV screen
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
You taught me how to pack the car, organize my garage and cry in front of my friends

I played through the tears and the blisters
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
Dropping the Tetrimino gave me confidence, problem solving prowness and resilience
92 lines, waiting for the hard drop of an I-Block for a Tetris, J-Blocking into an S-Block with my eyes completely blurred in tears
Locking the t-spin for a combo line-clear
NES controller in my hands.