Roulette
by Sandy Florian
A game of chance. Or. A gambling sport. As. Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Fame. Or. A glamorous attraction in Monte Carlo. Differently colored. Indicating the players. Not the values. Not exactly. Or. A game played on a revolving concave table. Onto which a ball. Into which a box. Or. The rolling of balls is central. For. A banking game at the Birdcage Alehouse. At the Rising Sun. Where the bets are placed against the bank. Upon the red. Or. Upon the black. As. Invented by monks. Or. Invented by the Chinese and communicated by monks. For. The ball has no memory. The name of the game is blame. To you, I am a bit of fun. A frolic. A joke. A lark. To me, you are the croupier. Of Russian Roulette. But. If the ball has no memory, it falls into the same slot seven times running. Or. You whirl the wheel counterclock. These are the anti-turnings of time. Then. Toss the ball from three to six. For. This is a whirlpool. Or. This is a whirlwind. All bets are against me. And. The most common system is the Martingale. Where. All bets are doubled. I am taking to losing again. And. You have the advantage. For. Wherever there is likely to be Friction, you are playing the game with me.
Straight. Split. Street. Or. Square. Line as six. Column as dozen. It’s like I said before. This is a tornado. Dozens low. Or. Dozens high. Noir or Rouge. Diamonds are taking the place of words again. Odds or even. Paired. Impaired.
A device to keep the hair in curl. So. Put the wig in pipes. Pile it in a pyramid of rolls. Add some pads, some puffs, and some pins. Or. An expeditious way of multiplying dots. One like a spur rowel. Another at right angles. Used to raise the burr when the cradle has been burned. Or. A toothed wheel for perforating postage stamps. So. If this be Play, let’s begin the Diversion. The wheel is spinning the room again. Roly-poly. Or. A Country Dance. For. You have dollar signs for eyes again. And. Chances are. House odds.
Other poems by Sandy Florian in ActionYes #3:
Carnival
Clock |
