Scrabble

Lay me down
across your Scrabble board
and I’ll shuffle my tiles -
I will challenge your rack
until you beg for mercy.
Explore with reaching hands
for those remaining letters;
and I will open up
my triple word score
if you play by my rules.
Count up for me
my score,
and cover your letters
from my curious gaze.
We slide the tiles
across the clean sheet
of the board,
your mouth curls
as you spell out the words.
I surrender all my letters
for a fifty-point bonus;
you are left, red-faced
with blanks.