Let’s see. Is there any place for an R?
Can it be inserted into FLAP or GUM or
BENCH? But no—I watch as CHART is
made, and I half-heartedly sigh. I watch
HIS turn to FISH and then to SHIFT.
That could be a sentence. But they’re
just random words, somehow
conjugated from tiny letter tiles spread
out on the table. It’s amazing how many
words can be made—WATERY, CUBICLE,
QUIZ, WISPY.

Right here, when it’s just
a game, none of it
seems to mean
anything.