Something Like Playing A Game Like Prisoner's Dilemma, Or The Near Extinction Of Polar Bears Poem by Dennis Ryan

Saturday morning, January 25,2014; Thursday morning, January 26,2017

It's something like that—it hasn't always been the case,
but I know it is now, so I play the game accordingly.
What am I to do, ignorant of other players' actions,
trying to make the best decisions to avoid foreseeable
and unforeseeable consequences which can be decisive,
immediately impact our situation—that of family members,
our animals—their lives are important too.I don't care
what you think.Zena just lay down on the book
I am reading, settling her weight along its edge
as I compose this secondpoem of today.You should
read the first one.And one more thing: there aren't many
polars bears left in the wild, almost all of their locations
plotted by hunters, the bears hunted down systematically,
hunters approaching them from all four directions—there's
no escape.What the polar bear doesn't know is fatal,
but there is also wisdom in no escape.It's what you
don't know that's gonna hurt you.Mark my words.
Are you listening?The decisions I make are for all
the players, for us, are different from those of any one
other player.(I really hope you don't forget this point.)
And please remember—I practice a lot.Know a lot.
Thanks for remembering these things—my tender
mercies included.They will hold you in good stead.