improvised luck machine

Shake and shake
the roulette wheel
let the dice clatter
around,
flip the cards
like throwing stars
yank the handle
up and down
thump the green
felt tables hard
baccarat the pots
all in, raise the stakes
with signals wise,
yell to win! Money is
the magic. Luck

is made therein
to rise and melt
in flush and bluff,
betrayed by tell

absolutely no one

we were here. Luck
is made.

In secrecy,
by ritual observed
and bound

in strict
chaotic rule of thumb
once lost, so surely
soon again

so soon, so surely
to be found.