I ve never had much respect or tolerance for rules that carry severe penalties for being bent or broken; especially when being forced to obey such rules tend to violate one s sound reasoning or moral instincts. I was probably attempting to visualize what I perceived as some evil and selfish person s reason for such inept; and self-serving rules when I first wrote the following:

RULES

I will dictate my rules
Before the game starts
So there s no wounded feelings
And no broken hearts
And no swollen lips
With your fractured teeth in behind them.

Let my rules be adhered to,
Not mocked and not cursed;
But repeated in litany
Well versed and rehearsed,
And be so well remembered
That I won t have to remind them.

Then the game should go well
In accord with my plan,
When played by my rules
From the first to last man;
And should keep going we
For now, and for each coming season.

Ahhh, It s with amusement I ll watch them,
The automatons, the fools,
As they timidly dance
To the tune of my rules,
While lacking the wisdom
To err when they have a good reason.