Jennifer Hyde Dracos-Tice

Musical chairs—pep rally fun—
sounds mellifluous but is so
nasty. One origin was a German game—
“Trip to Jerusalem”— not enough
room on boats for Jews trying 
to emigrate. 800 students and faculty 
watch the competition on the gym floor build 
as chairs disappear, kids fight to fit
two sets of hips between
seat arms, flurry,
fight, and backward tip—
struggle, arm jam,
kid caught under
the scrum, all of us
standing and screaming,  
school photographer twisting, training
his long lens on the last one
alone in his chair.
We pound the bleachers,
he pumps his fist,
we laugh and shout his name.

Jennifer Hyde Dracos-Tice (she/her) has poems in Witness, Psaltery & Lyre, SWWIM, Crab Orchard Review, Whale Road Review, and elsewhere. Her debut collection, Lodged in the Belly, was published in 2024 by Main Street Rag. A long-time high school English teacher, she lives with her wife in Florida. jhdracostice.com