THE CARDSHARKS

(This poem is from my book Jim Shorts.)

 

cardsharks

Raoul, Sylvie and her half-a-brother Yish
Were door-to-door cardsharks in search of sum fish.
“Let us in or we’ll torcher!” they all chunted with gleem,
All afiery of eye, all connivy of scheme.
“We mean no borderly harm,” they taled a nu family.
“Off course if you ‘fuse, we’re three pyros, you see!
“So ply us a few rounds of blackjag or poka,
“We’ll luff and we’ll merrymake and we’ll java some mocha.
“Is it too mush to ask? ‘Tis in yearnest we’re franker.
“Let’s let bygoons beat bygoons, don’t be sore as a canker!”
The main of the house shivered his timbres quite frightly
As the trio of gusts burched and belped impolitely.
“I demandate de deal!” Raoul Tabasco then sat.
“If it pleaseth the coat, just shaketh you hat.
“Jacks be nubile, jacks be wild,
“Jacks jumbo o’er thy first-bored sonchild,
“Doozies be wild, johnnies be good,
“Redqueens be monty, clift palettes be wood.”
So they plied and they plied by yon slivery moon.
The hosts heebie-jeebied and staid pat as a boone.
The cardsharks won potfuls as they mad their own luck.
Their cop ranneth over with plundy good buck.
“It’s been quite a pledger,” Raoul then boweled graciously.
“You’re a batch of good spots, believest ye me.
“Maybe sobtime we’ll all do it once more for the gypper,
“Only nicks time my Sylvie will bake a yum kipper.”
So into the horizone they twilighted three–
Raoul, spousewife Sylvie and her semi-sibly.
Dem’s de bones, dem’s de breaks, de cookies, de crunch.
Some gets de judy, some gets de punch.

© 2016 Jim George

For more information about Jim Shorts, please read:

https://byjimgeorge.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/first-blog-post/

https://byjimgeorge.wordpress.com/2016/10/08/jim-by-george-a-self-interview-on-jim-shorts/

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Author: Jim George

I'm a writer, artist, songwriter, musician, and sound collagist. Working as a freelancer in the '80s and '90s, I interviewed a host of celebrities, including such legends as Gore Vidal, Muddy Waters, Steve Allen, Carl Perkins, Jean Shepherd, Willie Dixon, Nicolas Roeg, Bo Diddley, Steve Cropper, Dick Cavett, Junior Wells, Tony Bennett, and Buddy Guy for such publications as Starlog, Guitar World, Guitar For the Practicing Musician, Prevue and my hometown newspaper the Reading Eagle. Most recently, my interviews have appeared in Playboy, Cinema Retro, and Best Classic Bands. My fiction and artwork have appeared in Otoliths, Last Leaves, The MOON, Dream Noir, The Sea Letter, The Ear, Defenestration, What Are Birds, Lotus-eater, Pennsylvania Bards Southeast Poetry Review, Fleas On The Dog, ANON, Hock Spit Slurp, Queen Mob's Tea House, The Five-Two, The Disappointed Housewife and Praxis. I have authored two books--Jim Shorts, a collection of stories, poems and drawings, and My Mind's Eyeful, an illustrated children's book, both available as PDFs at: https://payhip.com/JimGeorge In my musical life, I've written and recorded songs that were used as background on a number of television shows including Young Sheldon, Burn Notice, The Hot Zone: Anthrax, Sneaky Pete, Fresh Off the Boat, My Name is Earl, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Vanished, as well as in the independent feature film Neo Ned (starring Jeremy Renner and Gabrielle Union). Bluesman Benny Turner has used lyrics of mine for a song he composed entitled "Who Sang It First." Fronting my own band, I have been a supporting act for such artists as Ian McLagan, Sonny Landreth, Joe Louis Walker, Simon Kirke, Walter Wolfman Washington, Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown, Eddie Money, Starz, Johnny A, The Holmes Brothers, Trampled Under Foot and Gary Hoey, among others.

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