the firecompany
in Boyertown 
has bingo on thursdays
at 7pm

or so announces their 
yellow-toothed
billboard outside--

the plastic letters 
were a mix of red & black
some wonky in their places--

down memorial highway
today i counted the number
of bingo nights as they passed--

mondays belong to limerick
& tuesdays to saratoga

& on wednesdays you could probably
make it to the one 
at blandon fire company at 6pm
& then to oley at 8

could i just walk in then?

wrist tattoos & checker-board
flannel--

sitting down at a long 
lunch-room style table
i would start off small--

get a lucky card going--

pick a blue stamper from
a coffee mug in the center of
the faded green table clothe--

elementary school
was probably the last time
i played bingo

i'd go with my friend janie

her dad & mom were pros

i watched them every year to
pick up skills--

fanny packs full of stampers

they'd lay the bingo boards
across the table 

a sprawling grid--

are you a 1 in 4 chance?

at least 6 boards at a time

i had trouble paying 
attention to keep track 
just 1 board

i was busy counting ceiling tiles
as the metal cage tumbled 
with numbers--

eagerly they stomped
each other's faces & rushed
again & again at the little
trap door--

was it euphoric to have their
name called aloud?

i feel like that when
people call me by my chosen name--

like B6, I19, or 062--

call me any of those--

just don't call me a girl
alright?

i'll swallow a handful of 
numbers when no one's looking

stop pretending like
it's just a game of chance--

there's a skill to this

there's prayer & then there's
janie's parents still
sitting in the lunch room
of their daughter's elementary school 

we never won 
not me or janie or
her mom or dad--

each game had a 20$ prize

that would last me 
the rest of the month 

i'd think about
what i would do with the money 

a ring pop or maybe
a sleeve of quarters at the bank 
for the machines at the end of
the check out at the grocery store

so if i go to bingo
will i blend in?

will they call me
young man 
or
sport?

red suspenders & pocketbooks
on beige folding chairs--

i hope they end with
the full card--

i love the prolonged suspense
of the last round--

in 4th grade i was 1 spot
away from winning

i pinched the red bingo
chip between my fingers
looming over single empty spot

B1

if all else fails i think 
i'd like to move there--

park my car in that
the unclaimed square

lay down in the back seat

i bet it's peaceful

& there's never a number 
for your name

so you just listen
to the plastic balls laughing
into each other--

there are too many planets

a whole cage full

in the dark of the firehouse hall
i would take out the bingo
game just for myself--

one card in front of my

moon in the window 
carving N32 into
her chest