las vegas easter morning [POEM]

three a.m. easter morning 
everybody’s praying
oh god oh god oh god 
let me 
win this hand 
make this roll 
hit that jackpot 
oh please oh please oh please 

oh crap 

bored casino workers yawn 
no sympathy / empathy / pity 
for the poor self-damned souls 
crowding their tables 
the workers wouldn’t be there 
if the players didn’t come 

the ugly players 
the loathsome players 
the morally / mentally / spiritually deficient 
the ones soaked in flopsweat 
on this holiest of holy holidays 

the workers want to be at home 
sleeping 
or getting ready 
for services 
at their houses of worship 
of choice 
they assume no responsibility 
for the grubby human detritus 
before them 

the desperate 
the dammed 
the deplorable 
seeking salvation 
in the flip of the card 
the workers stand equally condemned 
alongside the players 
everybody wants something for nothing 
nobody wants to pay the price 

© Buzz Dixon