From Nerve Cowboy #20, Fall 2005

MAYBE INDEED

 

they sat on

the double

bed

playing

blackjack

on the bare sheets

as the air conditioner labored

and the

lights of Vegas

stretched out into the desert

thru the window

across from

where they sat.

 

he had a jack showing.

she

showed

a

nine.

she motioned for another card.

he smiled a little

and flipped one on the white sheet.

now she had a nine and an ace.

he

stayed where he was.

 

her other card was also

an ace

but he couldn't have known that

 

so

he never had a chance.

 

the lights were bright in the

dingy glass across from the bed.

 

no one ever knows

and

that is

why we go on.

 

 

Christopher Cunningham

College Park, GA