Long Gambler Poems

*** Notice to the residents of Milton Creek ***

Tom serves as mayor. never complaining, so he gets what he requests 
No blood in his steak, apple pie with sweet cream. Aces cooks that meal
to perfection...

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Their human ma and pa were spark out in reclining chairs
But Rum and Raisin watched the TV with enraptured stares
The western had just ended with the credits rolling past
And Raisin said, “That gunslinger was super...

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One Hit Wonder
Another night, another song, another legion showcase

Some friendly folk just out for fun, an acoustic disgrace.

It's little cash, but lots of fun spinning discs on weekends

I play a few and sit and watch...

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If you're passing by Soup Creek our peace loving town
Do pay us a visit but wear a big smile not a frown
Our town is open to everybody all colours and creed
But check in your guns...

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                           I
On the hill betwixt Carlisle and Deep Creek
...

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The whips will crack across the back
of the steers that won’t move on.
Every day comes closer now
for the day they will be gone.
All these ‘beeves’ on the trail,
will be yarded sold and railed,
and the cowboys...

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Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Famous poets dedication series, Part One

I.

O' Man Of Perishable Earth

O' priest of golden sun
where hides thy black heart
Pray each day, dark deeds undone
in light, great wisdom impart

O' master of ink and pen
where...

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Gambling with the hope that comes 
To those who know His love, His grace, His mercy –
Risking the heart, the soul, the wonder
Of a love that came to us through His cross,
His gentle sigh, embracing...

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POEMS ABOUT POOL SHARKS

Shark
by Michael R. Burch

They are all unknowable,
these rough pale men—
haunting dim pool rooms like shadows,
propped up on bar stools like scarecrows,
nodding and sagging in the fraying light...

I am not of them,
as I...

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Dalton lived in the north Texas plain,
working a ranch he owned for five years,
a small spread, but it brought some money in,
some solace after all of the past tears.

His wife had died giving birth to...

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Whistle does the lone desert winds, flowing downwards from
Boot hill cemetery, in icy chilling breeze full of echoing voices,
From the past, begging for redemptions last chance of salvation.
Roll does the crimson tumbleweed, towards the ghost...

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This is the place the ’punchers come
when it is time to drink their pay,
ride in from the hilly rangelands
to forget cattle for a day.

Norma in the kitchen will cook
beef and spuds for this roving horde,
her...

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Armadilly Billy the Sling Shot Kidster was steadily on the move.
He was leaving the Southwest and his reputation behind, for sure!
Every gunslinger was out for him and of killing he’d become tired.
Even the weather was...

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Lyle Cosgrove had worked the Silver Queen
for two years now, ever since he had left
family drama back in Ohio,
he had simply left his home and moved west.

He made a living as a gambler,
had spent months...

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The sun rose in the east creating a bright orange hue
Tom lay in his bunk thinking, can it really be true? 
The good townsfolk had agreed Tom was a key player
And decided that Soup Creek...

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Another showdown in Soup Creek, I s'pose
Someone's got a wedgie in her pantyhose
It's another outcast
who likes to lambast
A bad attitude she chose to expose

Folks in the Creek asked why she was a crank.
What she has...

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It's time to get the stockings out of storage
before those who are nosey, begin to forage,
in my saloon, lookin' for their Christmas gift.
I know if I catch em' they'll plead the fifth!

In these parts, there's...

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Be yourself


She paints a picture of the real me.
I know in my heart that she truly believes.
She tells me stories that I always forget,
But neither of us mind that fact, 
Because it means she gets...

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(Continued from part one.)

Afire not his thoughts, the Devil sees,
He soars and roars, in his physical might.
His bears’ hug, his warmth, could melt you;
Into joys and tears, in willing submission.

Treat him not, to your portions...

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It was now growing dark as the sun was going down
When a stranger rode into Soup Creek, a frontier town
No one could see his face, he was all dressed in black
An old boy was heard...

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We were drinking in the Eagles Nest; a cozy little pub,
one Friday evening after work completed in the scrub.
Most of us are timber workers, who get paid on Friday night,
so we’re all cashed up and...

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Take me out of here and, 
Never bring me back to this dungeon
    
      Hell for the monkeys
    
     ...

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A true Nigerian is brave like the Lion,
He is courageous, hospitable and kind.
He never shies away from responsibilities;
In his hearts of heart he controls all within him.
Through faith, he moves without stopping;
Even when there are...

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GAMBLER OF THE FAMILY:

He is a young vibrant guy,
Who has a very innocent appearance,
So he is fairly cherished by everybody.
But in every situation he is always the wrongdoer.
His family calls him Ricky...
Friends call him Wager.
He...

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In the saloon gambler Milton, rose from his leather chair to speak
And said we need to make changes for the good of Soup Creek
He read all the meaningful proposals to the townsfolk out loud
And those...

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