Adventures in Literary Esoterica

Trading Cards

Three ring binders with decorated covers,
packed full of glossy sheet protectors
with three-by-three arrays of cards,
each depicting a unique Pokemon.
Gotta catch ‘em all.

First graders sit in a circle under the shade of a slide,
comparing collections, tearing open new tinfoil packs of cards.
Most are duplicates, but every once in a while,
a rare treasure is unearthed—
and friends jockey for trading position
to attain the elusive final items that will complete their catalog.

Collectible cards, an innocent mania
be it baseball players, superheroes,
or Pikachu and his friends.

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Line Count: 14

Form: Free Verse

Prompt: Word Card - Lilt / Mania (you only need to choose one word)

Written for: "Cards Against Authors"