To get her back
I play Russian roulette,
bet the bank on red
as the metallic pellet
bounces back and forth,
finally clicking in black.

After I lose the last
slug in the slots,
she invites me to test
the trigger against
my empty head
and go for broke.

I stake my last years
like a stack of chips
my number would not come up,
and again watch the way
the ball bounces,
blind as a bullet,
making muzzles
out my own eyes.

Arthur Gottlieb