All Life’s a Gamble

There are lessons I’ve learned
Growing up in the unstable:
The most important cards
Never go on the table.
You must be ready at all times
To negotiate, bluff, or trash-talk,
But mostly to abandon your chips
For an opportunity to walk
When the door opens,
But know what your opponent’s got.
Win or lose,
Some will find you in the parking lot.
Watch for tells,
With hands steady and still,
To see whether they’re playing for the pot
Or for the kill.
Assume everyone playing a hand
Is part of a stable,
Has a card up their sleeve,
And a gun under the table.

Be ready to blend into a crowd.
Get quiet when they get loud.
Make yourself valuable enough to keep
But not to prize. Don’t sleep.

Never close your eyes.

And if in doubt,
Don’t eat or drink anything they hand out.