In today’s Poet’s Corner contribution, Declan Durrant takes a sobering look at playing the pokies.
All the fun of the faire, ay?
All the fun of the faire;
a sprinkle here and a sprinkle there,
all the fun of the faire.
The carousel spins on
blue screens of neon light;
ringing bells and singing twinkles
tune out, staining mind;
golden trinkets down thin vessels with
frivolous disregard
up and down, jacks, queens dance
it spins and spins and I daren’t look away;
dry eyes and serpentine glances;
time is not, place is far;
dusk to dawn, the falling of the star
passes.
Decrepit to my right, to the other side
Few teeth and less sense;
It’s all for the fun of the faire, ay?
All the fun of the faire.
The clinking of well-earned treasure
as it plinks down drains;
I do not care, nor do I dismay;
I’ll get it back
another day.
It’s all for the fun of the faire, ay?
Yes all for the fun of the faire.
Declan Durrant lives in Adelaide. Completing a degree in journalism last year, he has written film reviews for InDaily and sports contributions for Adelaide United Football Club. Along with being an aspiring fiction writer and author, commentary through poetry is another subject that has been close to his heart. His poem today, comes from observations of the frivolous way in which gambling can sometimes be seen by society as a whole, when harm can often be the reality.