Games of Chance

Mike Turner·August 7, 2021

Games of Chance

written by: Mike Turner

@SchoonerSkipper

Get thee behind me, Satan!
Shall we engage in an old-style bear tussle?
Or arm wrestling?
Perhaps a throw of dice?
Though you seem to me more a poker-player
Holding the Dead Man’s Hand
With an ace up your sleeve

All games of skill and chance
Little if any intellect
More brawn than brain
Won by exertion, effort
A dash of courage
A smidgen of faith
And fate

Can I depend on you, Satan
To at least play the game fair?
Or is that an additional gamble?
The possibility that you’re a cheat
Being the only sure thing on the table?
And thus my proffered ante
To pony up for the kitty?

Stare me down
Call the game
Deal the cards
Raise the stakes
Two cards; dealer takes three
Pistols at ten paces
Rapiers at dawn
Seconds to the ready
As the games commence

When the play is done
And I’ve cashed in my chips
Will you accost me in the thoroughfare
Mask in place
Dirk in hand
To relieve me of my winnings?
Was it all a ruse
To make me believe I’d won
When you always held the hole card?

Or do you offer one last chance
To beat the odds?
Is there honor among thieves?
Would you release your hold
If I again put my cards on table
Go all in
Best two out of three?

About
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Mike Turner

Mike Turner is a songwriter and poet living on the US Gulf Coast. Named 2017 Male Gospel Entertainer of the Year by the North America Country Music Associations International, Mike’s original songs have received airplay in the US, UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and on the US Armed Forces Radio Network. He is co-founder of Music For World Peace Records, an indie record label specializing in original songs that promote world peace and oppose war. Mike’s poetry has been published in numerous print and on-line journals and anthologies; his first published poem was placed with Spillwords in 2019. His poetry collection, “Visions and Memories,” was published in 2021 by Sweetycat Press.

Lou Storey

A textbook example of nominative determinism, Lou Storey has always been a storyteller, a fact well illustrated in his art and in his writing. His careers have reflected that as well, first as a creator of idea-based exhibitions for museums, and later as a psychotherapist employing narrative therapies. His art and his writing share qualities of rich texture and detail, examining our capacity to be absurd while allowing a measure of forgiveness for our foibles. Storey and his husband Steve retired in 2021 and moved from New Jersey to Savannah Georgia. “We love everything about Savannah, it is like a city that looks like a park and thinks it’s a small town. Best of all, we can grow bananas in the backyard!”

Treats Only, Please! by Lauren Scott

Creepy cackles from tall, looming trees
startle their jumpy heartbeats as they walk.
Shadows discreetly follow the echoes
while they timidly proceed down the block.

Young voices repeat with conviction,
“It’s just a night for entertainment.”
There’s no need for goosebumps and fear
as their eyes focus on the cracked pavement.

Undeniably sensing they’re not alone,
many follow in their hesitant footsteps,
eager to reach doors and push doorbells
but afraid of frightening special effects....

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