Hole in the Ace

[couchgrouch]

Hole in the AceSeth rode in from a duststormon a pale and sickly old paintwith a cold deck of cards,in a pocket by his hearthe roamed the night seeking a gamehe learned to palm those acesdoing time in that Kansas penwith his ace in the hole,he slowly lost his soulconning guards out of cash and ginSeth walked into that barroompulled his deck and ordered a maltit seemed a familiar sight,the player piano that nightweeped and moaned a slow sad waltzand ev'ry chance cheaters taketakes their conscience from themand some are doomed to playthe same game again and againa stranger came down a staircasea dancing girl close behindthere's nothing like the bluff,of lonely hearts making loveto put gambling in their mindsthe stranger laid down his antethe whore folded and slammed a shoteven the old barkeep,had to read 'em and weepas tricky Seth took ev'ry potthe stranger watched Seth's shirtsleevecos Seth's aces were never shyhe was the kind of man,who wins ev'ry handcos his hand is quicker than the eyeand ev'ry chance cheaters taketakes their conscience from themand some are doomed to playthe same game again and againthe piano stopped its playingthe stranger threw down his cardshe knew Seth's ace of spades,from way back when they playedfor whiskey between iron barssmoke poured from the stranger's pistola bewildered look on Seth's facebleeding fate from his chest,a spreading stain on his vestand a tiny hole in his aceSeth rode off in a duststormon a pale and sickly old paintwith a cold deck of cards,in a pocket by his hearthe roamed the night seeking a gamecos ev'ry chance cheaters taketakes their conscience from themand some are damned to playthe same game again and again(c)2004 Robert George