I am dealing out cards this fine evening
Red and black marked with numbers
Aces, Jacks Kings and Queens
But pick them up cautiously and carefully
For all is not what it seems

Look at my face
Study it closely and well
I am the wearer of the skull
The merciless punisher of man.
The pied piper of sinners as they take my hand

A collector of souls
I smile and shuffle the deck
And watch you waiting in anticipation for the cards you will get
Five to me and five to you
Winner takes all when the game is through

Your life to me is no more than a grain of sand
The cards are on the table still facing down
I am absorbing your lifeforce without a sound
As suspicion begins to build slowly in your mind

Pick up the cards
Two black aces
Two black eights
The fifth card has no power
In your horror and disbelief
It has at last dawned on you too late who I am
And I have just dealt you a Dead man's hand.

@All Rights Reserved. Tammy M Darby. October 6, 2023.
All Material Stored in Author Base.