Safety with a Show Bet

Here's a link to my YouTube channel where I read my poetry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFGFJcFzKfY

Last bills in my faded leather wallet,

stained, folded wrong.

Washington looks depressed,

change jingling against my hip.

The track smelled like painted-up w****s

and stale beer.

The woman I loved laughing somewhere else,

probably counting my luck

at the bottom of a wishing well.

I watched the horses thunder past,

a blazing parade of hooves and hope.

Two bucks on the six horse to show.

Safe bet, nothing fancy.

Just a chance to get a little back

from a day that stole everything

while I looked the other way.

Crowd roars, cigar smoke,

and ladies looking for salvation.

Some b*****d with one leg

tries to sell me a tip sheet.

I've got enough bad advice

to last three lifetimes.

I cough, nod, put my hands in my pockets,

and pray like I do every day.

Bukowski cackles somewhere in my head.

Hopper stares, unblinking,

with his lonely paints,

lights glinting off the rail,

the taste of dirt on my tongue.

I sip the last of the paper cup whiskey,

watch the silks blur,

and hope two bucks is enough,

that the number six horse

doesn’t break a leg.

Author's Note

Just posted a brand-new long-form poetry reading on my YouTube channel! In this session
Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFGFJcFzKfY

My books are also available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thomas-W.-Case/author/B0CL2RKDGX?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=xsU45&content

Thank you for reading, listening, and supporting poetry—it means the world!

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

Dear Thomas
this piece reminds me of a friend whose life revolved around betting, stealing, running penniless, using his last dime to bet on a horse... an addiction in some sense.... but being poor with nothing can easily set someone on this path of pure destruction... very strong and somewhat hopeless
Warmly,
B

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, Betty. Much appreciated.

[emmajoygreen]

Made a note of where I can find your work, Thomas.

Your above words however: they have that special Thomas air, full-blown yet relevant. You rarely waste a letter but tell tales start to finish that use inspirational brevity!

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you so much. i appreciate it.

[red93]

Well Thomas old Friend you certainly had all the vices in yr former unreformed days. I have a flutter once a year on the UK Grand National. My estranged 2nd Wife once had a Winner on that race @ 66-1 - she collected over £200 that day. I enjoyed yr Piece, but I am glad you are out the other side ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you my friend.

[Chris Shaw]

Lady Luck can be such a b*itch. This bet smacks of desperation. I’ve known someone who couldn’t stop. Nearly lost everything. Another addiction, a different day. Life is tough for some.

Chris

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, Chris. Much appreciated.

[Michael Sun Bear]

As an addict let me say thank you. You have made betting at the track feel gritty, dull and unappealing, a farewell to a past age that doesn’t call to me. That said, let me emphasize there is food here for any Reader, there always is in a Thomas Case poem.

[Soren]

When life has reached such a spot that only luck can save one. Nicely written my friend

[Thomas W Case]

Much appreciated, my friend.

[Soren]

You are most welcome Thomas

[John the Baptist]

Another offering from the poet's lean days. The imagery and characters put the reader down with the crowd at the race track. The speaker's conclusions tell us where he is emotionally. Yes, Bukowski would have loved this one. His kind of folks.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend.

[Neville]

this has a smell, taste and feel that is unfamiliar to me but I can picture it so clearly .. near got an adrenaline hit off it myself Thomas .. Neville 😎👍

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend. Much appreciated.