Shuffle the Devil

Outside the red mortar and brick, 
a neon sign glows with green blinks-
three quick, three long, three quick, 
signals that my future is on the brink.  

At a table, I sit down with pleasure. 
In silence, Madam begins the ruse. 
I smile. Tell me my fortune, teller.
I have nothing left to lose.

She shuffles the cards 
and the Devil appears. 
She goes another round,
and then he disappears. 

Random cards are placed, 
as the table has them neatly arranged,
in a sequence that only she can trace. 
Surprised, she gives me a noteworthy exchange. 

Shuffle the Devil inside; 
don’t let him out-
Shuffle the Devil blind;
he symbolizes my doubt.  

With a twitch, I listen, 
her interpretation has me pegged.
The clarifying cards are missing
the one that would define her spread. 

Shuffle the Devil again, 
you know, he wants to play.
Shuffle until he surfaces-
he wants to be on display. 

Then it happened, the Devil crosses me.
The seer explains what the sign meant.
I react to the news with: how lovely. 
The Devil seems to be heaven sent. 

Shuffle the Devil inside out
She knows what she sees.
Shuffle him hard and about…
because she knows the Devil is me. 

undawnted

A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Ms. Mullan decided to showcase her literary talents by publishing collections of her poems. She also writes novels, designs...

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