the die is cast, the cards laid down on the table
the flop, the turn, the river, but it’s the pocket that matters
and you don’t know what she’s got
you’re crossing your fingers and holding your breath
trying your damnedest not to give away a tell

the sacred geometry of chance
the profane illogic of chaos
when does chance become fate
randomness become destiny?

another familiar traversal through the Friend Zone, perhaps
or a savage burn, the ties all cut, the roads all barricaded
she’s screaming in terror and running as fast as she can
you’ve been this way before, another turn around the bend
another tack against the wind
melodrama ain’t getting you nowhere
you swear that another dagger in your heart is gonna kill you
but you’ve gone this route before, all the lines and cues are familiar
like you’re trapped in the first act of some godforsaken off-Broadway production
the same monologue over and over again like you’re auditioning in hell

the only way to play the game is all-in
there are no half-measures, there is no insurance, no take-backs, no trial runs
you get what you want, or you go out like a shooting star
burning up in the atmosphere, leaving nothing but interstellar dust motes
suspended in the twilight sky

She is who she is, it didn’t take anything I said to make it true
Courage. Passion. Hope. Wonder.
like an iridiscent flame, like the sunset turning the sea and the sky to a brilliant fiery red and orange
the world, my heart, burns with an aching longing
I want her light to shine forever
in her reflected glow, even someone such as I will give off a little illumination
around her, I can incandesce and coruscate
becoming more than I am, greater than even my vainest imaginings.