In   It’s like a club, and maybe you were hired or maybe you were tapped, it’s all the same, you’re in, that’s the thing, you’re in on the game — but first: the trial, the hard ordeal of fire and ice, the hazing, initiation. Admit it, you wanted this, you wanted in, you wanted a chance. Fine — you’re in. And the blue vestments suit you, the rooms are underlit and filled with whispering — it’s what you said you wanted, it’s what everybody wants, that special smell, those slots where special coins can be the only tender, and you’re fed the special food, you dance the special dance, forget to wonder why you even joined.     © Michael Fleming Brattleboro, Vermont August 2016