POKER WITH THE DEVIL- A POEM BY DAVID RITTER

Once upon an Autumn moon,
in a land that love forgot,
a wayward Joe roamed from his home,
and started to drink a lot.

He left behind a nagging wife
in a house back in the woods.
And though he tried to please his bride,
Joe knew he never could.

Nobody knew the pain he felt,
or why he ran away,
but feeling unloved was like a shove,
and he found no need to stay.

He staggered down a broken road,
to a place where dreams die.
He was never mad but sometimes sad,
and no one wondered why.

And like the brisk October wind,
where fragile leaves fall,
Joe held doubt and was down and out,
with little hope at all.

He made his way to Whispers Lounge,
to find refuge from the cold.
In the corner sat Satan waitin’,
at a table full of gold.

The devil held a deck of cards
and shuffled like a pro.
He saw the lad alone and sad
and whispered, “come here, Joe.”

Joe turned his head, and the devil said
as he snickered with glee,
“Why not pull out that chair right there,
and play one hand with me?”

There was no way that Joe could play,
for he had nothing to bet.
A drunken life and leaving his wife
put poor ol’ Joe in debt.

Knowing Joe’s broke, the devil spoke,
“There’s one way you can play,
and if you win by going all-in,
I’ll save your marriage today.

And I’ll give you all my gold right here,
and any desires you choose,
but I get your soul, and you can’t go,
if by chance you should lose!”

All life’s pleasures with vast treasures,
if only Joe could win.
The temptation is strong, greed is wrong,
but Joe said, “deal me in!”

The devil dealt from the bottom,
and did his best to deceive.
He talked sweet, like a lying cheat
with an ace up his sleeve.

With fortune and fame calling his name,
Joe’s face began to blush.
When he looked hard at his cards,
and saw a Royal Flush!

With no way to lose, Joe sipped some booze,
and pondered the winning pot.
Desires await, and the gold is great
but a nagging wife was not…

Oh, somewhere in a bar somewhere,
cheerful chaps hang out.
Poker is played, drinks are made,
tall tales are talked about.

And somewhere, men are cheering,
the peace that covered the land,
when a clever Joe told the devil no
and folded his winning hand!

David Ritter

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