Author Information
Brave
Alas I call upon your heart,
To 'ear a tale that I came upon,
About a lad with a generous start,
But continues gamble his way undone.
He goes to the venue full of cheer,
With a healthy wad inside his vest,
And returns forlorn with his cheek a tear,
With 'firm resolve and deep regret.
His fortune does not come too ready,
And what little he ekes from his life,
Does all too soon make him quite heady,
And heading uptown for more taste of strife.
It began one day from a pleasant stroll,
By the river after a happy outing,
Where he went into a bar to escape the cold,
And the thought of a drop had him pouting.
He had sat himself down before the bar,
And ordered himself a refreshing beer,
And asked of the barmaid "What's that over thar?"
And was told it was the new gambling machieen.
Well he'd never really had much of a punt,
But thought he'd be right to give it a go.
It looked a pretty harmless stunt,
As he viewed other players already in tow.
So he opened his wallet and pulled out a ten,
Got some coins from the cashier and sat in front,
Of the first poker machine he had meant,
And wondered if he'd be lucky or not.
Well he dropped the coins in and pressed the button,
The pictures rolled round to a whirr and a click,
He quickly found it doin' nothin',
And deep in his bowels he new this weren't the trick.
But then with a push and consequent spin,
Music played, lights flashed and people turned heads,
He had just had his very first big win,
And collected one hundred dollars with a fifty cent bet.
Now if had known that this was the end,
Of being ahead with the poker machine,
He'd have the good sense not to go there again,
And would have finished his gambling quite happily.
But instead he goes there time after time,
Trying to relive that beginner's luck,
But really he's putting his life on the line,
And can't see how into it he's been sucked.
But actually just the other day,
He lost his whole pay in the usual way,
And realises there's nothing he can say,
Except that now idiocy don't make you brave.
