The Game

[plural]

It starts with a phone call
a gentle dance
probing
needs and wants
desires and capabilities

then we meet
perhaps for lunch
speak of the past
make an impression
what can I do for you
what can you do for me
talk of the future
where things might go
every step
a negotiation
a tactic
a ploy
each sizing the other
probing just below the surface
to find out
what exactly
the other wants
or more to the point
is willing to accept

everything is negotiable
nothing in stone
we dance
fleshing out
the terms
of our future
relationship

until
an agreement reached
I sell my soul
and
sign my name
in triplicate