Banned

Most of my poems have an origin story. A place, a time, a mood, something that triggered it and set it off. Not so much with this guy- you may recognise him from A Man A Loan A Gun. He shows up, does whatever he likes and leaves when he is done. I never know where the poems are going to go but they are always fun.

Banned

I walk into the Casino with no fixed purpose
They won’t let me play at the tables
Accused me of counting cards
And now every dealer looks at a photo of me
At the beginning of their shift
I see a face at the bar someone I know
Wander over and buy her a beer
One thing leads to another
And we are in a hotel room
Planning a grift
A little bit of flash, no bang
Some fast words to paper over the gaps
The next day on less than three hours sleep
We return separately to the Casino
I don’t count any cards
I don’t bet on a single hand
They kick me off every table I sit down at
Of course I sat
Right next to her
In the ensuing shuffle
She does her magic
Lifting chips
Changing cards
Working the seam
Faith said to me the night before at the bar
Sometimes you have to turn cards
Sometimes you have to turn heads