“Hustler” by LeRoy Neiman
shatter the triangle
crack the tight rack
launching resinous orbs
into pockets and rails
choose the high or the low
convert cue for finesse
stroke ballistic geometry
ordinal shot-making
stealth combinations
sweet carom and kiss
sink the eight in its time
take the money
From my book Ephemera
“Shooting Dice” by Aleksandr Trachishin
the desperate play
rolling bones in back alleys
begging for a fade
old bricks can trip up the odds
old dreams come up snake eyes
(originally posted January 2015)
“Grand Prix de Monaco” by Leroy Neiman
land of one house
large with smallness
a jewel with a lease
on its own special sun
Riviera casinos lure
luxury into its operas
of cult aristocracy
sexy with speed
through the hairpin
chicanes of grand prix
a place heartbeats
and drums of ambition
can’t help but accelerate
every square inch
plush and lavish with
ambient fairy tale qualities
chased of all shadows
and signs of the humble
realities looming
beyond its exquisite
escapist demesne
Photo Illustration from imgarcade.com
gambling is
clearly a game
for the head
not the heart
pushing chips
without carefully
reckoning odds
is as foolish when
one plays for love
as it is when one
plays for money
“Surgery”
Painting by Benfo
From artolive.nl
beating heart
held in hand
life and death
peace and pain
in surrender
to the touch
to the staunch
and the skills
of a surgeon
trust given
submission
dire features
of fear
mortal peril
manumission
of spirit
enslaved
by disease
a last chance
feeble odds
all the chips
on the inside
double zero
appeals to
that sense of
a desperate
irony
“Boys Shooting Craps”
Photo by Lewis Hine
From fineartamerica.com
the desperate play
rolling bones in back alleys
begging for a fade
old bricks can trip up the odds
old dreams come up snake eyes
“The Hustler”
Painting by LeRoy Neiman
From pool.bz
shatter the triangle
crack the tight rack
launching resinous orbs
into pockets and rails
choose the high or the low
convert cue for finesse
stroke ballistic geometry
ordinal shot-making
stealth combinations
sweet carom and kiss
sink the eight in its time
take the money
“Gambling Scene at an Inn”
Painting by David Teniers the Younger
From kipar.org
step right up my good friends
I’m the dealer of days
take a chance on tomorrow
bet your dreams buy your plays
if you win I’ll assure
you the finest estate
if you lose I will choose
what will hang as your fate
but I’d give you one chance
double down for my stake
of all dreams from all men
lost to gambling’s mistake
if you win they’re all yours
every whole every part
if you lose then I’ll take
all the hope in your heart
Joss Custom Made Pool Cue
Photo from billiardsshowroom.com
Joss custom cue
pockets of cash and bravado
well-paid misspent youth
“Figures Gambling in a Tavern”
Painting by David Teniers the Younger
From wikimedia.org
fortune frowns sternly
upon feverish fingers
clawing after it
Writer Lynne Sargent
Poetry Puttering by Pax & Company
Sometimes everything has to be enscribed across the heavens so you can find the one line already written inside you. Sometimes it takes a great sky to find that small, bright, and indescribable wedge of freedom in your own heart. David Whyte
"drink from the well of your self and begin again" ~charles bukowski
no dust here
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Looking ahead, without looking back (too often)
flights of fancy from New Zealand
You're never alone, if you've something to share
All you touch and all you see / is all your life will ever be
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I am where the valleys are deep, the mountains are high, and the wind moans through trees...
