Show me your hand.

The games we play.

I’m not much of a card player, but the few times I do play, I never show my hand.

Showing your hand can be risky.

It’s why most people don’t do it.

It opens floodgates of possible reactions.

Showing my hand is like showing my route to victory.

I’m no longer the only one who knows, and you might make a move based on what you’ve seen , and change everything for me.

My hand, my secret.

If I show you, I risk this game no longer going in my favor.

Unless of course I have a handful of draw fours.

Unless of course I pretty much know the outcome.

Unless of course I know my chances of winning are high.

Showing my hand calls me up, it pulls me to do the thing I said I was going to do.

Everyone knows the hand I had.

It’s game on, now I have to show up.

It’s why when someone asks “what are you working on?”

I tense up.

They are asking me to show my hand.

I don’t have all draw fours.

I don’t have it all figured out.

I don’t know the outcome.

And so I respond with fluff.

Part of me knows if I show you my hand, I also have to show you my fears.

If I show you my hand, you might see how much they are shaking.

You might see the sweat dripping from my palms.

Or the swollen goosebumps from this secret I'm so passionate about.

But what if we aren’t opponents? And what if this isn’t a card game?

What if showing you my hand led you to showing me yours, and what if we joined hands and did this thing together?

Giving each other a hand.