imagine the player (poem)

[droqen]

first imagine the players
not in a mass but face by face:

eleax,
   who kills for sport
   and ignores every conversation,
   every human word

ameri,
   who keeps a notebook on hand
   to remember those friends
   that feel alive

avrin,
   who arrowlike dashes
   straight toward the finish line
   cut and bled by spurned roses

hyert,
   who dreams of bathing
   naked in the ocean that lies
   forever trapped behind glass

faval,
   who watches like a hawk
   and feels pain
   at every missed opportunity

these players are their own protagonists, all

   the player is your protagonist
   how do you expect them to act?
   how do you want them to?

the changes that occur in their heart
are the lifeblood of this art form
a story told by its own audience.

first imagine the player.

second imagine the game.

[droqen]

i keep making small tweaks - each miniature character/player stanza can be honed, to the point where some of them feel like they could each be small standalone poems

i'm a big fan of hyert
   who dreams of bathing
   naked in the ocean that lies
   forever trapped behind glass

and i think faval really needs some changes

ameri was gendered at first but felt out of place among the others, so i've degendered that stanza