the great gambler  by Bogdan Dragos

we all know what makes an
athlete great

what makes a martial
artist great

a fisherman

a chef

a mountain climber

a race pilot

a painter

a hunter

sure

but

what makes a gambler
great?

Now this is rarely
if ever
asked

Somehow the answer, “he who wins
most and loses least is
a great gambler,” remains
unsatisfactory

It would’ve been fine
if we were talking about
a boxer for example,
but gambling… that’s another
hell entirely

winning a lot
doesn’t make you a good
gambler. A lucky guy
maybe
but great gambler?
Not so
much

I don’t think there’s
such a thing as a great gambler
but I do think this one kid
from my hometown came
quite close

He didn’t win or lose
or gamble a lot in the first
place, but he
was always the dumbass who said
shit like, “Hey! Bet you I
can throw this here
stone all the way over that
there branch on that tree.”
And before picking
up the stone he’d take out a
butterfly knife from some pocket
and open it before you. “If I miss,
I get eight cuts across the
arsehole. But if I don’t miss, you
get the cuts.”

Or he’d say, “Look, we stand
right here an’ toss the
coin at the wall, see? The one that
lands closer wins.
The loser gets this nail stuck into
his dick hole. You in?”

Whenever there was any
competition of
any kind, he’d instantly come up
with something like, “Loser has to cut off his
foreskin and wear it like
a wedding ring for seven days.”

An’ he was hella serious
with that shit too

He wasn’t the smartest fellow
in town
and I’ve never seen any of
those penalties being
carried out

Soon as he came of age
he suspended all school activity
and got a job
as a construction worker

I’m pretty sure he
never won any
money from gambling

Yet he’s still the greatest
gambler I know

Cuz no matter what
he does
he always bets on his
life

Many thanks to LatinosUSA —English edition for featuring my poem, "the great gambler"!

Check it out HERE!

Thank you!