Weekends were hard
When he couldn’t get a free room
At the casino hotel
Like he could on the weekdays
He went on poker binges
Saturday and Sunday
Thirty-six hour sessions
If he had the stamina
Sometimes sleeping in his clunker
In the parking garage
The reward points from the long sessions
Providing free meals
Most people at the table
Had no idea
He did three tours
In the sandbox
And this was all he had
To come home to.

James P. Wagner (Ishwa) is the publisher for Local Gems Press, President of the Bards Initiative and National Bards, and owner-operator of the Dog-Eared Bards Book Shop. He was the National Beat Poet Laureate for the United States for 2021 and has edited more than 130 poetry anthologies.