Competitive Instinct

I see telltale evidence
Of my upbringing
Reflected back at me
From my oldest daughter.
She inherited my
Competitive instinct,
And it shows up
As an extreme
Determination to win
That borders on
Being a character defect.
She seems to take
Inordinate pleasure
In beating me
At any game
We chance to play,
Giving my domineering side
A run for its money.
In looking back,
I realize I grew up in
A house of games
And simply
Passed that tradition on.
My younger brother,
Lee, and I,
Were both weaned
On interfamilial rivalry.
We honed our skills
Through years
Of hearty competition
With each other
And with our parents.
We learned to play
Chess and checkers,
Risk and Diplomacy,
Monopoly and Life,
Scrabble and numerous
Other board games
At a very early age.
We also played
Canasta and Cribbage
Fish, Draw, Hearts
And many other card games.
None of us
Were bred to lose,
But somebody has to.