To play the Hand, a king of diamonds.

Piano keys a runneth
fingers do the talking
to play the king
the act of acting
the joker mimes the tune
that falls on the crown
that smiles of a queen waiting
where in the middle
all that glitters
amongst smoke filled eyes
a crowd gathers
momentum swings on
the rope of a yarn
the desperation of a desperado
to coin a phrase
You win some
you lose some.
Options available :
A deal with
the Devil - Pay later.
Or meet the Angels of death
they have the chalice
filled with brimstone fire
To your health
on the wealth
played by a
sweaty hand.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I am coming to the end of my latest read, Centennial, an 800-page tome about settling the west here in America. This is the world you describe in your poem, where land-grabbing & pistol-whipping were commonplace, where playing cards & drinking & whoring were the main entertainments. Becuz of my aversion to repetition, I forget how effective lines like these can be: "the act of acting" . . . "desperation of a desperado" . . . great word play & strong details to paint this scene (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Einstein Noodle]

seems like a piano duel with itself, Andrew ... reminds me of so many things .. cards, the old west, Crossroads and the flooding of the South so many decades ago, and of course ... all those deals with the devil ... and er......... never draw to an inside straight my friend! ..always to devil will have his due >:O
E.

[andrew mitchell]

Haha thanks for the heads up Gene! Yes the old days of the west where you can hire a gunslinger to drive out the baddies, the drinks are on the house and of course the ladies of the manor are there waiting to massage those aching loins.;)

[Einstein Noodle]

ahahahaha saddle up my friend! we'll hitch the post together :)))))))))))))))))))) I hear Dolly Parton has the best w***e house in Texas :))))))))))))))))))

[andrew mitchell]

Lmao:)))))))))))