BETTING AGAINST THE HOUSE

by Rick Ehling

Almost overnight an entire 

country reeks of three AM 

in Las Vegas’ seediest casino

Few truly smiling, everything feigned

All that fatigued desperation

Smoke and sweat settling heavy 

in dayless, temperature controlled space

Coin cups and wallets emptier

Perhaps a bit drunk  Bleary eyed 

Certainly sleepy  Blinking, 

yawning  Or were those sighs

Remembering prior buffet

A feathered line of showgirls

Well past joy’s equinox 

This crash after faux sugar 

Clinks and flashes finally 

overwhelming  Triggering 

a headache or tinnitus  Most 

clinging to whatever chance 

they no longer believe in

Many wishing they counted cards

Rick Ehling is a physician living in the SF Bay Area, working in what was once called a “safety net clinic.” He writes most mornings when he can’t sleep; this started after a family illness but has continued for much of the last decade.

I HEAR AMERICA'S MEDIA SINGING

by George Salamon

"Hillary Clinton Wins Big in Vegas," The New Yorker 

. . . and more than 10,800 other articles on Google

Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abby,
Queen Hillary at the Wynn Casino in Vegas.
Victoria held the Scepter with Cross in her right hand
And the one with Dove in her left.
Hillary stepped from behind her lectern on the podium.
Her hands were empty but her smile dazzling.

No Archbishop knelt before her.
Yet the words of Homage came quickly
From the Peers and Peeresses of Punditry,
Singing "This is the Day which Hillary hath made."
They pronounced our democracy's benediction:
Hillary had won the debate!


George Salamon, who writes from St. Louis MO, has noticed that the Republican and Democratic debates are starting to affect his nervous system. This, however, is not a cry for help.