[Rick Mullin]

Odds

After Albert Pinkham Ryder’s The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)

The odds are in your favor, yet the same.
The house is under camp smoke. But it’s there.
Of course the serpent startles at the game.

O clockwise rider, you are not to blame.
Smart money isn’t always on the square.
The odds are in your favor, yet the same--

a tablespoon of absinthe set aflame,
a cloud line hammered tight enough to tear.
Of course the serpent startles at the game.

The morning after doesn't fit the frame,
no upshot in the echo of despair.
The odds are in your favor, yet the same,

candescent jockey. Psychopomp by name.
The remit of your landscape, laissez-faire.
Of course the serpent startles at the game.

The hour you present the winning claim
is tolled in rolling numbers, fog and prayer.
The odds are in your favor, yet the same.
Of course the serpent startles at the game.

___
Changes:


"but" to "yet" in the first repetend.


S4/L1 was: The morning after isn't our domain.


Minor punctuation tweaks too tedious to note.
.