Culture

Tore the card up
side to side
said don’t split you’re luck
I’ll give you mine

They ended up
boots muddy
under the bridge
over the river
waiting for the barge to pass by
that would carry them down to Ole Jordan

But instead they found a lucky driver
who took them downtown
where the men played spoons
for their empty jars and hats

They took an empty bottle and spit on the side
to see what it might yield
in some recycle yard
the torn playing card in a pocket
they ended up playing it
in some crooked card game of drink

In the lime light of the Civic Center
where patrons of art enjoyed
the classic works of some unpronounceable foreign
portrayer of the poor
they lingered beneath the lighted windows
and watched the first snows fall