Verbal Poker*

Forgive me.
Perhaps I misunderstood.
Would you please
Repeat what you just said?

You see
I believe life is precious
And I would not want
To be hasty
And do something untoward
That violates
The sanctity of life
Liberty
And the pursuit
Of your happiness.

I do not want to repeat
What I thought you said
Because I am probably wrong.

But if you did
Indeed say
What I thought you said
You may want to place a call
To a friend
Or two
So they can begin
To make their way here
To sweep you up
Bind you up
And carry you somewhere
So you can begin to heal.

After all
Healing can be a long process.
Don’t you agree?

I hope you agree
Life is precious.
You do not appear suicidal.

But one never knows.
Does one?


* I admit, I have on more than a few occasions, played "verbal poker" with bad men who intended harm. I figured, were I to lose, what they wanted to do to me was not acceptable. Were I to not fare well, they would certainly ruin my day. Were I to succeed, we would both walk away. So far this has happened. This is a dangerous game, played for high stakes. To date I have won every hand of "verbal poker." I hope to never play again. If I must, and I lose, you'll never hear about it. There simply will be no further posts on this blog. I have spent a career working with street people. Sometimes things go south so fast that engaging in conversation is impossible. Let's hope that doesn't happen. I'm getting too old to find this exciting. It's best to stay in my recliner these days. And that is what I hope to do as I approach my Social Security years.